


Finding the Earth

by Sharia_Kags4



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Denial of Feelings, M/M, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 03:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11935455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharia_Kags4/pseuds/Sharia_Kags4
Summary: Traumatized from his parents' abduction, prince Kyungsoo was sent to hide in the Fire Kingdom's castle. Chaos arises and Kyungsoo is forced to step up and take charge together with the other kingdoms while unexpectedly finding love.





	Finding the Earth

“How is he?” a voice asked. 

“Physically, he’s fine,” another replied, this time, the medic’s. “But mentally, I can’t really say. He hasn’t said a word since that night even though he understands what we’re saying. Even our best medics can’t seem to figure out the problem.”

“Of course they can’t you idiot! It’s not a physical injury, it’s a mental one. You can’t fix him witnessing his parent’s abduction with a power! It takes time,” the first voice said, anger in his voice. “Move, doctor, I want to see him.”

The door opened with a click, revealing a tall man with dark red hair, the darkness showing his age and power. He was wearing robes that imitated fire and consumed his body with every step he took, revealing his nobility. 

“Do you remember me?” he asked gently, once he was in front of the boy who was curled up on his bed.

The boy was no more than 7, his hair a light brown, one that matched the earth. His eyes were a darker shade, with a tint of green in them to show how he was connected to Mother Nature. Instead of the usual brown to green robes he wore, he was dressed in a white robe.

The boy glanced at him, and recognition and happiness flashed in his eyes before they became dull again. Slowly, he nodded.

The man sighed, relief washing through him as he realized that the boy remembered him. There was still some hope at least, that the boy would be able to heal.

“I know what you went through was tough, watching everything happen,” the man spoke slowly. “That’s why we’re going to help you. Do you want to stay here?”

The boy cocked his head, frowning as he processed the words. Staying meant that the same thing could happen to him. But leaving meant that he was leaving the place where he grew up, all his memories. 

The man stared at the boy, watching him as he weighed the pros and cons of the idea. 

“Excuse me, King Jihoon?” the medic reappeared. But he was not alone this time. “The Ministers of the Do Kingdom have come to see you.”

“Of course,” he replied. He glanced at the boy before following the doctor out of the room. He carefully closed the door behind him “Minister Lee, Minister Kim.”

“Hello, Your Majesty. It’s a sad moment that the time you visit us from your Kingdom so far away is only due to such a terrible fate,” Minister Lee said, bowing.

“Yes, indeed it is,” King Jihoon replied. “We have much to discuss about the future of this kingdom, however, I do not believe that this is the best time. I need to talk to the Young Prince about his future first, as his decision will determine how the Kingdom will be ruled after the abduction of his parents.”

“Of course, Your Majesty. But right now, the kingdom is in a devastated state. The people are starving and the crops refuse to grow. We have rebellions in the streets daily, almost starting a revolution before our troops can get there. We need a leader to help us through this time,” Minister Kim said. 

King Jihoon lifted up his eyebrow.

“I see,” he said slowly. “And you are asking me to choose someone to lead this Kingdom?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” they said, bowing their heads low.

“Of course then. Send for Minister Woo, from my Kingdom. I trust him to take over here and not take over the kingdom due to his selfish ways, such as you two have tried. Do not think that I am so blind as to see what you two are up to. Go now, leave my sight,” King Jihoon hissed.

The two ministers left infuriated, scowling as their plan did not work.

King Jihoon glared at their backs as they walked down the hall, startled when he heard the door behind him click open.

The boy tugged on the King’s sleeve, gaining his attention before nodding, causing the older man sigh in relief.

“Thank you, Kyungsoo.”

~

“Uncle, what’s going to happen to me?” Kyungsoo asked, writing it on a piece of paper as he stared at King Jihoon.

“Well, I’m bringing you to my kingdom because it’s a good way to keep you safe. We’re hiding you because we think that the people who took your parents are going to try and take you as well. So from now on, you’ll be my nephew, not that you aren’t already, but you’ll be Park Kyungsoo. Is that fine?”

Kyungsoo cocked his head, contemplating the thought. 

“Yes,” he said mentally, nodding his head. He whimpered when the carriage shook too much, the negative possibilities flashing through his mind.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” King Jihoon reassured, noticing his panic. “My soldiers will protect you, alright?”

Kyungsoo nodded, clutching onto his new robes tightly, unsure of what the future held for him. Although his parents had been close with King Jihoon, he had never really seen the man, and if he did, it was less than ten minutes before he was whisked away into his parent’s office.

“My son, Chanyeol, is going to be happy that you’re coming. He’s always wanted a younger brother, but my wife died too soon to bear another child,” King Jihoon mentioned sadly. “She died some time ago, and I’m still sad, but luckily someone else came into my life and made me see how the world still moves on.”

Kyungsoo didn’t say anything, not knowing how to respond. He had never experienced love, besides from his family. Other than that, it was just kids of the royal bloodline or high rankings that merely admired him, or claimed that they loved him to get to a higher status. But he was smarter than that.

There was one person who managed to befriend him though. A younger boy by the name of Kai. He never asked Kyungsoo for anything, except to read several books that he liked himself. It was that moment that the Earth prince knew that they would become friends, whether or not Kai was of royal blood or not.

“I need to warn you though, he’s very...energetic,” King Jihoon said. “Your life was very peaceful from what your servants told me, and my son might scare you a little.”

“But what about my powers?” Kyungsoo asked, tugging on the King’s robe.

“Ah, that is a problem, isn’t it?” he agreed. “We’ll say that you’re a late bloomer. In the meantime, we can teach you little tricks with fire, so that no one gets suspicious. It’s something that everyone can learn, like ones when they’re hiding.”

Kyungsoo nodded before looking out the window. The Fire Kingdom was very bright, although it might have been the sun reflecting on the bright sand. It was very different from what Kyungsoo was used to. The outskirts of the kingdom were mainly deserts, making it hard for another kingdom to attack as they would have to track through miles of sand before reaching a single town.

As one went further in, the terrain became beautiful lands full of hills, valleys, and mountains that were heavily populated with the people. It was almost like an island surrounded by sand instead of water.

Kyungsoo stuck his head back into the carriage as a wave of heat hit him, making small beads of sweat run along his forehead.

King Jihoon chuckled, watching the young boy. “You’ll get used to the heat soon, Kyungsoo. Hopefully soon, as Chanyeol is very touchy and also very hot as he is still learning to control his powers.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in fear. He did not have any siblings nor were there many kids, any really, in the palace. He didn’t know how to act around the other kids. They always complained that he was too stuck up, or that he was mean to them. But he only acted like he would around adults. Apparently, that wasn’t the right thing to do.

“Don’t worry Kyungsoo, everything will be fine,” King Jihoon said, squeezing Kyungsoo’s hand as they walked up the stairs to his castle.

Kyungsoo knew that, but he was just worried about meeting Chanyeol.

“Will he like me?” Kyungsoo asked quietly, shocking the King as it was the first time he had spoken since the night of his parent’s abduction. 

“Why wouldn’t he? My son will love you, he’s particularly fond of squishy things,” King Jihoon smiled, giving Kyungsoo’s cheek a small poke.

“Daddy!” a voice shrieked, causing the two to stop in their tracks.

“There he is,” King Jihoon said amused, bending down just in time to catch the little body flying at him. “There’s my big boy! Your skin is colder! You’ve been practicing, haven’t you!”

Chanyeol didn’t answer as he had caught sight of the small boy who looked like he was trying to hide within himself.

“Who’s that, daddy?” Chanyeol asked, pointing at the boy. His eyes gleamed, excitement shown in his eyes.

“This is Kyungsoo. He’s your cousin,” King Jihoon answered, setting his son down gently. “Be nice to him, okay? Something bad just happened to him so he’s a little scared right now.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol agreed, walking toward the boy quietly, as if he were a mouse that was going to run away. He bent down a little, being a little taller than Kyungsoo. “Hi. ‘M name’s Chanyeol.”

Kyungsoo looked up at him before staring at the floor again.

Kyungsoo waved his hand a little, but didn’t say anything. But that was enough for Chanyeol, whose smile radiated like the sun.

“Do you want me to show you around?” Chanyeol asked excitedly. 

Kyungsoo looked up to King Jihoon, but he had disappeared, most likely going back to his Kingly duties. His eyes went back to Chanyeol, who was still waiting for his answer.

“Okay.”  
~  
“Kyungsoo! Are you awake yet?” a voice asked, poking him on his cheek.

Kyungsoo groaned before moving deeper into the blanket. 

“Kyungsoo! Wake up!”

The boy whined before turning away from the annoying voice. He could practically hear the pout on the other’s face.

“Why are you up so early?” Kyungsoo asked, sitting up. He blinked several times to adjust to the bright light that filled the room.

“Early? It’s lunchtime Soo!” Chanyeol said, confused. “Why do you sleep so weird?”

“‘M just tired,” Kyungsoo answered, throwing the blankets off of him. He headed to the bathroom that was connected to his room. He usually wouldn’t be talking to Chanyeol so often, he was actually a shy and quiet person, but the older boy’s boisterous voice made him step out of his shell within minutes. It reminded him of his old friend, Kai, who would often visit his kingdom. They would always be found together, either reading or just messing around. Which if what he’s been doing with Chanyeol now.

He sighed as he brushed his teeth, spotting Chanyeol watching him interestedly through the mirror. He probably should have closed the door, but he was accustomed to being alone so he had grown used to leaving the door open.

“I picked out your clothes for you Soo!” Chanyeol said, gesturing to the red robes on his bed.

Kyungsoo was about to ask why he had chosen red robes when he remembered what King Jihoon had told him yesterday in the carriage.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo said, grabbing the robes and heading back to the bathroom to change. He came back out a few moments later, staring at his body.

“Is something wrong?” Chanyeol asked, confused as to why Kyungsoo was just standing there. “OH! The color’s different, isn’t it? My daddy told me what happened. I’m sorry about your parents. But don’t worry! Your secret is safe with me. My daddy said that I should protect you and that-that um….that you’re different. But that’s ok! Because being different is cool!”

Kyungsoo gave him a weak smile and nodded. Chanyeol smiled back and grabbed his hand, leading him to the dining room. No one yelled at them to stop running or even seemed to notice them, but Kyungsoo could feel their stares boring into his back as he went past them. 

“Here we are Soo!” Chanyeol declared, stopping in front of a table. It was quite normal looking, seeming to fit around 4 people, two on each side. “My dad likes us to eat together, and sometimes someone will join us. But if it’s like, a REALLY big event, then we eat at the fancy one.”

“I see,” Kyungsoo said. “Are you sure I can eat with you?”

“Of course you can! Daddy said so. You can sit here, next to me,” Chanyeol replied, pulling the chair out for Kyungsoo to sit on. Kyungsoo climbed on, although with a bit of trouble due to his short height, and sat, waiting for Chanyeol to sit next to him.

“Now we wait for daddy,” Chanyeol explained, swinging his legs back and forth. It didn’t take long for King Jihoon to enter, his robes trailing on the floor behind him.

“I hate it when Kyung makes my clothing longer than it should be,” he complained, sitting down across from them. “Good morning, Kyungsoo.”

“Good morning, Uncle.” Kyungsoo bowed his head a little at the king, making him surprised that he had spoken. 

“Are you, uh, fitting in well?”

Kyungsoo didn’t respond, unsure of what to say. It had only been a day after all. 

“You don’t have to be scared. This might be new to you, but sometimes new is better, don’t you think? Besides, you’re basically family. Don’t worry if you do something wrong, okay? You just didn’t know, and even if you did, we’d tell you to let you know,” King Jihoon added.

Kyungsoo nodded, looking down at his lap as he fingered the hem of his robe.

“C’mon Kyungsoo! You need to eat breakfast!” Chanyeol said through a mouthful of food. 

The sight made Kyungsoo burst out in laughter, the food from the older boy’s mouth almost falling out when he smiled. Soon everyone was laughing, conveying a happy morning during Kyungsoo’s first day when the sun shined down brightly.   
~  
“So, I heard that you’re a late bloomer,” Jaehyo said. “But I think that’s because you haven’t had any proper training. That’s why I’m here.”

Kyungsoo nodded. Late bloomer. Psh. More like not capable of doing anything with fire. 

“The first thing we’ll do is light a fire by snapping your fingers, like so.” He demonstrated it, a small fire appearing at the tip of his thumb. He put it in front of the boy’s face so that he could see how it was to be done.

“Wait, can you snap?” Jaehyo asked, unsure if the boy could. He didn’t want to teach the boy something and offend him if he couldn’t do it.

Kyungsoo frowned at him and lifted his hand, snapping his fingers loudly, the sound resonating throughout the room.

“Ok. I just need to make sure. Now, to create the fire, I want you to concentrate really hard. Close your eyes, and imagine the heat that your bodies hold. Feel where it’s the warmest, and where it’s the coldest. Concentrate on moving the heat, move it to your arm, down to your hand and to your fingers. And keep it there. It’s going to feel like something is buzzing around super fast around your fingers, but that means that it’s working. And when it builds up, snap, and think about pushing it out of your body.”

Jaehyo watched the young boy, how his eyes furrowed as he tried to understand what he said. And how he relaxed and took deep breaths to calm down and try again.

After several minutes, he opened his eyes and snapped. Nothing appeared, making him pout.

“Show me your hand,” Jaehyo instructed. Kyungsoo showed him and the older man looked at it. “Hm. It’s very warm. That’s good. It means that you were close. But practice makes perfect.”

Kyungsoo nodded, a determined look on his face.  
~  
Kyungsoo practiced for the entire week, until he would meet with Jaehyo, his instructor, again. Sadly, he was unable to create a flame, not even smoke.

“I see, this is troubling,” Jaehyo mumbled, looking at his hand. “But that might be due to the fact that you’re a late bloomer. But remember, just practice.”

Kyungsoo nodded, staring at his hand intently.

“You know, the fire within ourselves is based on emotions. That’s why we’re a very good asset to being an ally, militarily. Our emotions get the better of ourselves and we release it in fight. Maybe that’s where you’re going wrong.”  
~  
After the lesson, it wasn’t uncommon to find Kyungsoo crouching in a random corner and snapping his fingers, trying to get a flame to appear from his fingers. 

“Kyungsoo! Let’s play!” Chanyeol said. He had been waiting to play with the boy for a while now, wanting to play games with his new friend. Kyungsoo, however, was more focused on his training.

“Not now, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo replied, slightly irritated. The taller had been going on like that for around ten minutes already.

“Please,” Chanyeol begged, pouting. He poked Kyungsoo’s shoulder, almost knocking him into the wall.

“I said stop it!” Kyungsoo yelled, whipping his arm back to make Chanyeol take a step back or two, giving him his space. His eyes widened when he saw a scorch mark on the other’s robe. “Why-it’s burnt?”

He looked down at his hand and yelled. His hand was on fire, completely unable to be seen from the flames.

“AH! CHANYEOL! HELP ME!” Kyungsoo screamed, running around the room, waving his hand around to try and put out the flame.

Chanyeol looked at him with wide eyes. After a moment of silence, sans Kyungsoo’s screams, he started laughing, clutching his stomach as he fell to the floor.

Their shouts didn’t take long before attracting attention, drawing several maids, butlers, and even King Jihoon and Jaehyo to the room.

They took in the scene, Kyungsoo running around, not catching anything on fire due to non flammable furniture and clothing, and Chanyeol wheezing on the floor.

“I told you it would work,” King Jihoon said, smiling smugly at the other. Jaehyo rolled his eyes but jumped on the other, tackling him to the ground.  
~  
“Don’t do this to me Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol pleaded, pulling on the other’s robes. He was kneeling on the ground, looking up at Kyungsoo who ignored him as he continued to read his book.

“Fine, be that way then,” Chanyeol grunted, leaving to sit in the corner, his back facing the younger.

Kyungsoo sighed, finally looking up from his book. He felt a pang of guilt wash over him when he realized that he made the other sad. He tended to forget that he had an actual friend, and that he needed to involve the other in his life as well. As well as that Chanyeol was happy to have him around. 

“Come play with me,” he said, his quiet voice seemingly loud in the room. 

“Really?” Chanyeol asked, his head perking up. The excitement was clear in his voice, wanting to play with his friend.

“Mhm. What do you want to play?” Kyungsoo asked. He set his book down and got up from his chair. He had grown taller after spending two summers at the Fire Kingdom, him turning nine and Chanyeol ten. 

But of course, he was still much shorter than the other, who had grown twice as much as he did. He didn’t mind though, it just mean that life was easier for him, if he couldn’t reach something, Chanyeol would be able to.

“Let’s go explore in the forest,” Chanyeol suggested, grabbing Kyungsoo’s hand and dragging him outside. Kyungsoo protested when he realized that they were going out the window.

Chanyeol jumped out first, stumbling a bit as he landed seven feet from where he was originally. 

“C’mon!” Chanyeol encouraged, waving at him to follow. Kyungsoo looked out and immediately scooted behind the wall.

“No,” Kyungsoo called out, cowering. His eyes peeked out the window, looking down at Chanyeol so he could see the fear in his eyes.

“I’ll catch you,” Chanyeol assured, holding his hands up. 

And that’s how King Jihoon found Kyungsoo hanging from the window with his fingers, his cries able to be heard from across the Kingdom, and Chanyeol laughing at him.

“What did I sign up for?” he sighed.  
~  
“Hi Chanyeol!” 

The Royal Family from the Light Kingdom was visiting, wanting to talk about the Earth Kingdom’s future. Kyungsoo’s whereabouts to everyone was still unknown, so Baekhyun, the prince of the Light Kingdom, was surprised when he found the other patching a bandaid on someone’s knee.

“Oh, hi Baekhyun,” Chanyeol greeted, not really looking at him. He was more concentrated on wrapping the gauze around Kyungsoo’s pale leg.

“Who’s this?” Baekhyun asked, slightly jealous that his friend that he hasn’t seen for a year wasn’t paying attention to him.

Chanyeol usually followed his dad when King Jihoon went to visit other Kingdoms. Kyungsoo, who was shy and didn’t like meeting people, always stayed back, playing in the forest.

“Hm? This is Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo, this is Baekhyun. He’s the Prince from the Light Kingdom,” Chanyeol introduced.

Kyungsoo bowed slightly, not really able to less he fell off the counter and onto Chanyeol.

Baekhyun smirked at him, happy that he was above Kyungsoo. But what he didn’t understand was why Chanyeol was hanging out with someone lower than him.

“He’s my cousin.”

Baekhyun didn’t really care. He was still lower to him in his eyes. And there was no reason to include him in his plans with Chanyeol.

“Let’s go play Chanyeol,” Baekhyun urged.

“Wait Baekhyun. I need to finish this. He got hurt because of me,” Chanyeol said. He finished it and helped Kyungsoo come down from the counter. The younger wobbled slightly as he landed, but was able to stand without much pain.

“How’d he get hurt?”

“Ah, his power still isn’t that strong. He doesn’t have much emotion. So it’s hard for him to create fire,” Chanyeol explained.

“So he’s weak?”

“That’s not what I mean Baekhyun.”

“That’s what I heard.”

Chanyeol was about to retort back, but Kyungsoo asked him to help him to the bed so he could rest. Baekhyun wasn’t stupid. He knew what the other was doing but he didn’t say anything, wondering why he didn’t let Chanyeol fight for him.

“Will you be ok?”

“Mhm. Go play. I’m just going to read my book.”

Chanyeol nodded and ran off with Baekhyun, who slammed the door shut behind him, the loud sound resounding through the room. Kyungsoo sighed, knowing that Baekhyun didn’t really like him, although he didn’t know why.

He glanced around the room, wishing that he had asked Chanyeol for the book before he left. It was across the room, on the table by the bookshelf. His eyes caught on the window, it having a little sofa in front, the two being connected, so that people could sit there comfortably and stare out the window.

Kyungsoo carefully slid off the bed, making sure to shift his weight onto his uninjured leg, before hopping to the window. Luckily, it wasn’t that far of a distance, and he was able to get there without tiring himself out.

He did a little jump so that he could sit there and since he was too small just to place his butt down. Once he got on, he looked out the window, amazed at the sight before him.

The bright sun, not uncommon in the country, was high in the sky, shining down on everything. The trees, which were hard to grow due to the hot heat, were a bright green, which could be mistaken for grass if seen from a higher point. Small animals could almost be seen at the edge of the forest, which served as protection for the kingdom, due to the forest going as far as half to the border.

But the thing that caught Kyungsoo’s eye was the Elder Tree. It alone survived the many fires that had been created in the forest, burning down most of the trees over and over. Yet only the Elder tree had been the survivor of all of them.

It stood taller than the rest, and its branches spread over the younger trees like an umbrella. Its leaves were darker than the others, showing its age and wisdom. Its trunk, withered from the natural events and fires, was wide, almost 30 feet, making it impossible for new trees to grow near it, having at least another ten feet away before growing.

He couldn’t look away, it was as if the tree was calling him, telling him to go to it. Kyungsoo looked around the room, and, seeing as it was empty, carefully jumped out the window. He had more practice of doing that since he became friends with Chanyeol, and he was no longer scared of the height.

As he landed, he winced, forgetting that his leg was injured, but quickly shook off the pain. He made sure that no guards were on duty as he snuck into the forest, knowing that it was against the rules that King Jihoon had told him and Chanyeol. Once he was beyond the treeline, he relaxed, the feeling of being surrounded by nature like a drug to him. He felt happier, and the pain in his leg was no longer noticeable.

The fear that he might get lost disappeared as he started heading deeper into the forest. He would catch glimpses of animals every now and then, but he didn’t chase after them. It seemed like they were heading towards the same place after all.

At one point, he wanted to give up. He had been stung, scratched, and tripped countless times, the pain from his leg nothing compared to how he felt now. But he knew that he was close. So he forged on.  
~  
He wasn’t sure how long he had been traveling through the forest, or if he was going in the right direction anymore. He looked up to the sky, which could barely be seen through the leaves. The leaves! Beyond the tree’s leaves, were darker leaves, from the Elder Tree!

Kyungsoo started running, excited to finally be there.

He broke through the brushes and landed on his face. That didn’t matter to him once he lifted up his head, the tree refueling him with energy. He got to his feet and jumped in happiness. His laughter rang through the forest as he ran up to the trunk, hugging it in delight.

“It’s nice to see that you finally made it,” a voice said, startling him. He let out a yelp and whirled around to find….nobody. He frowned, sure that he heard a voice. “Up here.”

He tilted his head and his eyes widened when he saw a butch girl looking down at him from a branch.

Her blonde hair shone out from the dark leaves, and her clothes were very different from what Kyungsoo had ever seen.

“Hi?” Kyungsoo asked, not sure on how to act.

“I’ve been waiting for you. You came faster than I expected,” she said, jumping down. She landed gracefully, not even making a sound as her feet touched the floor. “My name’s Amber.”

“Kyungsoo,” he replied. “Why are you here? Why am I here? Why do you know I would be here?”

“My gift allows me to talk to spirits,” she answered. “And the spirits have told me to come here. To train you.”

“Why?”

“You’re very curious aren’t you?” she sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Don’t you know that curiosity killed the cat?”

“But satisfaction brought it back,” he retorted.

“Nice. Anyway, I don’t know either. I just do what the spirits tell me. And this time, the spirits told me to train you with your Earth Power.”

“How do you know? No one’s supposed to know!” Kyungsoo exclaimed, worried that his secret might be exposed somehow.

“Don’t worry. We’re helping you. Or, preparing you. And don’t ask why, like I said earlier. Everyday, I want you to come here so we can train, alright? Come after midnight, the spirits will be able to help more than I will, and they’re at their strongest then.”

“But how can I get away? The guards are -”

“I’ll teach you something. Consider this as your first lesson,” Amber said. “The first thing I’m going to teach you, is Tunneling. It’s a way to move from one place to another when you’re trying to be discreet.”

“Tunneling,” Kyungsoo repeated.

“Yeah. So what you do, is…”  
~  
“You did pretty good for a someone who’s been learning Fire,” Amber complimented. “Hmm. I’ll teach you one more trick before I go.”

Kyungsoo, who was ready to knock out, lifted his head up from where he laid on the ground. He sat up, ready to learn. Although he was tired, he was happy that he was learning about his own power rather than faking it.

“If you’re ever injured, or tired, just do this trick. You take a flower, or a leaf, and turn it upside down,” Amber said, plucking one from the ground. She placed in on Kyungsoo’s knee, where it had been scratched and bruised. “Now, draw power from it. Connect to it using your heart, and draw it into you.”

Kyungsoo took a deep breath and did as she said. 

It didn’t take long before he was told to open his eyes, making him look down to his knee to see it healed, but the flower withered.

“Ah! It died!” Kyungsoo cried. He frowned, not liking that to feel better, he took someone else’s life.

“It’s fine Kyungsoo, this flower was old, and was going to die anyway. She was happy to help you. Now, before you do this, you need to ask them if you can. You can talk to them, you know,” she said, pointing it out. “That’s why your Kingdom, the Earth Kingdom, is so plentiful with life. Because those with the Earth power can talk to animals, plants, grow things. Everyone thinks that all you can do is grow things, but there’s so much more. You proved that today by tunneling. Now, before you go, remember, tomorrow at midnight. Don’t tell anyone unless absolutely necessary.”

Kyungsoo nodded and started to leave.

“Thank you,” he said, bowing down to her.

She smiled as he turned around and left.  
~  
When Kyungsoo had arrived at the castle, he realized that Amber, or perhaps one of the spirits, had altered the time, so that Kyungsoo had merely been gone for two hours, instead of the six he had spent there. Two hours to get there, three to train, and one on the way back. 

He glanced back at the forest, suddenly seeing all the things he’s never seen before, from the animals that were two feet away watching him, to the way how the leaves moved with the slightest breeze.

A smile adorned his face as he ran back to the castle, not realizing how he was covered in twigs and dirt from the training.

Some of the workers looked at him in surprise, never having seen the boy look so dirty before. He was usually the one who looked neat and clean compared to Chanyeol. But he ignored it as he ran to King Jihoon’s office. He was so excited to tell him what happened, that he didn’t realize that he might be busy.

“Uncle!” Kyungsoo called out, running in. 

King Jihoon, who was talking to King Jokwon, paused as he took in Kyungsoo’s figure.

“What happened to you? Never mind, go wash up and I’ll talk to you later,” King Jihoon said, trying to go back to the very important talk with the other King.

“Uncle! I-”

“Kyungsoo, is this a conversation that needs to happen right now?” King Jihoon asked patiently. And to his horror, and King Jokwon’s amusement, Kyungsoo stood there, lost in his thoughts, as he debated whether or not it was important.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo decided, some moments later. “There’s a girl in the woods.”

King Jihoon looked shocked.

“Girl? Wait - what were you even doing in the woods? You know you’re not allowed in there,” he scolded.

“The tree was calling me.”

“Tree? What tree?”

“The big one! In the forest. The Elder Tree,” Kyungsoo answered, looking pleased with himself.

King Jihoon shared a glance with King Jokwon.

“Why don’t you go take a bath, and you come find me when you’re done, alright? And don’t tell anyone.”

Kyungsoo nodded and ran out, wanting to get clean himself.

“Looks like we have more to talk about then we thought,” King Jokwon said, sitting down in a chair.  
~  
As Kyungsoo left the office, he asked Yuri, one of the many maids in the castle, to draw a bath for him. She nodded and he followed her to the first floor, where the bath house was. He waited inside while she went out to the separate building to fill the tub with water, and then heated it using her power. 

When she came out, she told Kyungsoo that she would lay out his clothes by the door. He nodded and went in.

Kyungsoo, who usually preferred a quick bath, took his time. He had realized that the other person in King Jihoon’s office was most likely Baekhyun’s father. King Jokwon from the Light Kingdom.

He wanted to look presentable this time, instead of a boy who didn’t seem to care about politics, but rather messing around. He just wanted to prove that he wasn’t Chanyeol.

He made sure to remove all of the dirt from his hair, under his nails and mud that stuck to his body. Then he used a flowery fragrant soap to hide the smell of sweat on his body, as well as discreetly tell King Jokwon who he was.

When he was done, he made sure to properly dry off, using a small fire technique he had learned to dry his hair.

Then he made sure that he was dressed properly, the clothes being left on a hanger by the door, before making his way back to King Jihoon’s office.

He knocked this time, not barging in.

The door opened and King Jihoon gestured for him to enter. Kyungsoo bowed at King Jokwon when he was in front of him, and then took a seat on an armchair, which was more than twice as big as he was. But he liked it because it made him feel important. 

“Hello, Kyungsoo. I am -”

“King Jokwon of the Light Kingdom. You got rid of the rebels two years within your reign, and is now the most loved leader of your kingdom.”

“I’m assuming that he’s smarter than Chanyeol? And that he’s passing his studies?” King Jokwon asked.

“I had to get Kim Namjoon to teach him because the others didn’t have enough information to keep him satisfied,” King Jihoon answered, feeling proud of the boy.

“Impressive. Now, Kyungsoo, why don’t you start from the beginning?” King Jokwon urged.

And Kyungsoo did, making sure not to leave anything out. When he was done, he watched as the adults absorbed what he just told them.

“Is something wrong uncle?” he asked, worried since neither of them spoke a word.

“No. Thank you for telling us, Kyungsoo. We talked about it earlier, and decided that it’s best if you do go to these. But you can’t tell anyone. To make your...Tunneling...easier, we’ll move your bedroom to the bottom floor,” King Jihoon said.

“I think it’d be better if you still continue practicing Fire as well. That way no one suspects anything about your Earth. Your sleeping schedule will change, so we’ll adjust that,” King Jokwon said. “Also, some other people might come around so you can learn how different types of people fight with different powers.”

“But I can’t use fire that well,” Kyungsoo said. He had thought it through and realized that they wanted him to fight using Fire. He didn’t like that idea since he wasn’t that good at it. Plus, if he did that, then he would never learn how to fight using his Earth skills.

“That’s why you practice. And I know what you’re thinking. That’s why sometimes you’ll have private practices. Those days, you’ll have your own practice, and we’ll let you train with someone who we trust can hide your secret. Alright?” King Jihoon asked.

Kyungsoo thought about it and nodded.

“Who?” he asked, blinking up at the two adults.

“Well, there’s my son, Baekhyun, for example,” King Jokwon said. He paused when he saw Kyungsoo looking a bit sad. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think he likes me very much,” Kyungsoo whispered. “He said I wasn’t strong.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you. I know that that doesn’t seem like a nice thing to say, but maybe it was his way of showing you that he’s nervous. It’s called a defense mechanism. He’s nervous so he pretends to be mean to you to see if you still like him or not. You see, Baekhyunnie is very flamboyant, but he’s scared that people might not like that about him, so he tests them, to see if they really do like him. It’s like what you did when you first came here, remember?” King Jihoon explained. Kyungsoo thought about it before nodding. “But don’t be too nice to him. Or he’ll be twice as annoying and clingy as Chanyeol.”

“Yah! Don’t talk that way about my son!” King Jokwon exclaimed, pretending to look angry.

“It’s true.”

“I know, but don’t talk like that.”  
~  
Kyungsoo was sitting in his new bedroom, one on the first floor and was quite isolated. It was where the guests would stay, but since that was rare, Kyungsoo was given a room there. He was pretty lonely, but he knew that it didn’t matter when it came to whatever he was being trained for. 

He sighed, but he was happy since his room was bigger than his old one, giving him more space to have books. Knowledge is power was what his parents always told him.

In the corner of the room, underneath an empty wardrobe, was a hole that was at least thirty feet deep. The wardrobe itself had a false bottom, easy to remove when he wanted to enter or exit the hole.

Everything had already been moved and Kyungsoo placed his old winter clothes in there. He knew that he had outgrown them already, but it was one of the little things he had left from his own kingdom. He sighed, knowing that something was happening to him.

A part of him was excited, but he was mostly scared. He was afraid of what would happen if he were to fail. That that will make him weak, that the fear in his heart would make him fall.

“Hi Soo!” Chanyeol said, running into the room as he ignored the closed doors. Baekhyun followed behind him, a frown on his face as he followed.

“Hi,” Kyungsoo replied quietly.

“Why’d you move down here?” Baekhyun asked, looking around the room.

“It’s less of a walk to go outside, the kitchens, the baths and the library,” Kyungsoo stated. “It’s such a walk up and down all those stairs everyday. Especially with my being injured.”

“You’re kind of spoiled, aren’t you?” Baekhyun asked.

“You’re kind of judgemental, aren’t you?” Kyungsoo shot back.

Chanyeol stood in between them awkwardly, not knowing what would happen next. Then Baekhyun smiled.

“I like you,” he said.

Kyungsoo frowned. It seemed that Baekhyun was rather fickle. He wasn’t sure if he could handle that, and he didn’t want to deal with another Chanyeol. He had heard them running around and screaming through the castle earlier.

“Let’s play!” Baekhyun exclaimed, grabbing Kyungsoo’s hand and dragging him off his bed to play.

“WAIT! MY LEG!” he shouted as he was dragged.  
~  
Kyungsoo’s eyes opened, never having been actually sleeping. He turned his head to the side, making sure the other two were actually sleeping before he slipped out of his bed.

Unluckily for him, the other two decided to have a sleepover in his room the next day. He quietly made his way over to his wardrobe. He opened it and made his way in, making sure to close it as he did so before he opened the hole.

He slowly lowered himself in the hole, happy that he made little footholds for him to stand on and help him climb up and down. Kyungsoo raised his arms and gently lifted the cover back into place, sealing the hole securely.

Then he snapped his fingers and created a small flame. Then he transferred it to his hands, using a little more energy to make it bigger. Then he placed it in the air, so that it would float with him as he moved around.

He made his way down, lowering himself from the small ledges he created, each one on either side. 

When he was done, he realized that he made a mistake. He didn’t know which way to go.

Almost immediately, the fire floated to the left. Cocking his head, Kyungsoo decided to go with his gut feeling and lifted his hands up in front of him before placing them against the rock. Taking in a deep breath, he pushed at it, almost falling when the wall gave way, creating a tunnel 50 feet deeper. 

Kyungsoo walked forth, not going to let anything stop him.  
~  
“I see that you have connected with some spirits,” Amber said. When Kyungsoo cocked his head, Amber replied. “Your personality attracts them. They seemed to have helped you without you knowing it.”

“One of them helped me find the directions here,” Kyungsoo explained, remembering how the fire moved each time he seemed to be a little off course.

Amber nodded, before taking in his appearance. “What are you wearing?”

“Uncle said that this is what Earth trainees wear,” Kyungsoo answered, looking down at himself. He was wearing shorts, ones that went just a little past his knees, and gave his legs a lot of space. There was a belt around his waist, holding it there so that it wouldn’t fall. As for his feet and his chest, they were bare. Uncle said that it would restrict movement.

“Well, that’s nice of him, but he hasn’t visited or seen any Earth people, has he? That’s kinda outdated,” Amber said, snickering into her wrist. “You can wear those, or you can have these.”

She threw down a sack that was sitting next to her. Kyungsoo started, and jerked forward to catch it on time, only to fumble and having it hit the ground at the end.

Pouting, he bent down to pick it up and headed towards the trees.

“Just create a little tent thing and change in there,” Amber called out.

Kyungsoo nodded and lifted his hands in the air, then he lifted his arms until it formed an X across his chest. As expected, it was created and Kyungsoo entered to change. 

When he came back out, he was wearing shorts underneath a semi-baggy pants. Amber said that it would help him stay balanced. He wore a tank top with a green jacket on the outside, that was tied around his waist with a belt, allowing him to let it hang there without completely taking it off. It went up to his elbows, and it had a hood, both of which were white. The bottom of the jacket hung down to his knees, just several inches above. His shoes were boots that went up to just below his knees, a light gray while the shoe itself was black. On his hands were black gloves that didn’t cover his hands.

“Is it like this?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Oh my god! You look so cute!” Amber squealed. She smiled down at him before handing him a bigger sack. “There’s four more of those in there, just in case. Now, let’s start. We’re going to practice tunneling again, and connecting with Earth to learn which way to go, and where you are.”  
~  
Kyungsoo climbed up the hole, remembering to be quiet since Chanyeol and Baekhyun were sleeping in his room. Once he got to the top, he blew out the fire before lifting up the hole. He crawled out and quietly placed the flooring back. Opening the wardrobe, he looked around before leaving it and making his way to his bed.

He sighed as he was able to relax and sleep.

…

“KYUNGIE! WAKE UP!” Baekhyun yelled, jumping up and down on his bed. The younger boy, however, was dead to the world.

Chanyeol smiled and knew what would wake up his friend. He jumped on him and started tickling him, getting no response. He frowned, wondering why the other wasn’t reacting. His eyes widened when he realized what had happened.

“HE’S DEAD!” Chanyeol screamed. Tears ran down his face as he mourned the death of his friend.

And that was how King Jihoon and King Jokwon found their kids. Baekhyun still jumping up and down on the bed and Chanyeol crying.

“I blame you,” they said to each other immediately.  
~  
Kyungsoo stumbled into the dining room, sitting in his usual place. Everyone watched him as he reached for a chicken leg. He bit into it, chewing slowly. A yawn would escape his mouth every now and then, but that didn’t stop him from eating everything within reach.

When he was done, he drank a glass of milk before burping. He muttered an ‘excuse me’ before his head flopped down onto his plate, the mashed potatoes cushioning his fall.

Baekhyun giggled at that and quickly stood up to clean up his friend’s face, Chanyeol getting up as well.

“Well, he should be tired after all that training. He hasn’t touched his magic for years,” King Jihoon said. “But we shouldn’t let him sleep for too long. Minah! Bring Kyungsoo to his room and make sure he awakes within two hours time. If he sleeps any longer, awaken him and bring him to the training after.”

“Yes sir,” the woman said, bowing. She took Kyungsoo into her arms and left, Chanyeol and Baekhyun following after her.

Kyungsoo’s eyes opened once again as they approached the stairs.

“Hello,” he greeted, staring up at the woman. “You’re pretty.”

She was startled at the tiny voice, but smiled when she saw that it was the young boy who was talking to her.

“Thank you sir,” she said, bowing her head a little. 

Kyungsoo smiled back. “Who are you?”

“My name is Minah, sir. I work in the castle. Are you awake now?”

“Yes. May I ask why you are asking?”

“King Jihoon told me that once you awaken, it is time for your training. But first, let’s get you cleaned up. You and your friends,” Minah said, looking down at the two boys who were following her.

She placed Kyungsoo on the ground, letting him be tackle-hugged by Baekhyun and Chanyeol, making him giggle.

“Can you go change into your practice outfits, young sirs? And then head to the arena for your lesson.”

The three nodded and headed into their individual rooms. Kyungsoo was halfway into putting on his clothes when he realized that it was the wrong outfit. He quickly put it away where no one could find it and put on the correct one.

He rushed out and jumped down the stairs leading to the training grounds, which were below the castle itself to lower the damages. Before when he jumped down the stairs, he would’ve fallen, but still landed safely as he was agile. But after two 5 hour sessions with Amber and the spirits, he was able to jump all the way down. She had also taught him how to use his strength, something that the Earth gave him. Amber had told him that Strength was a gift from the Earth, and that only a selected few was chosen to have. It was only given to those whose hearts are eternally pure.

The second his feet touched the ground, he dashed off to the first room. His breath came out in pants, but it wasn’t heavy like the other two were.

“Jaehyo!” Kyungsoo called out, running towards his teacher. Once he was about five feet away, he jumped and positioned his body so that one arm was forward,and the other was pulled back, the fist at his shoulder. He pulled the energy to his palm, lighting it on fire and pushed it forward to make contact with Jaehyo’s cheek.

Jaehyo took a step back and lifted his arms to catch the boy’s flying body, stopping it from hitting the wall.

“You gave away the element of surprise,” Jaehyo said, placing Kyungsoo down on his feet, the young boy pouting.

“I thought I was close,” Kyungsoo pouted, kicking the ground.

“Close only counts in horseshoes,” Jaehyo said. “Now, it’s time to practice.”  
~  
“Kyungsoo!”

The said boy looked up from his desk to see his cousin running towards him. The taller male was drenched in sweat, his orange hair sticking to his forehead. Muscles protruded from the robes, showing off his strength.

A sword hung by his side, the blade gleaming.

He must’ve just come from training, Kyungsoo thought.

“Yes, Chanyeol?” he asked, looking down at the papers that lay neatly on his desk.

“Why don’t you take a break from those Official Documents and train?” Chanyeol asked. “Do some real work.”

“Real work? Now tell me Chanyeol, if a foreign minister or advisor came asking for a treaty, which would be more effective in communicating with them? Looking over documents and talking about trade, or having a sword fight with them?” Kyungsoo asked, raising an eyebrow. He still hadn’t looked up from the papers yet.

Chanyeol pouted, but his face bore a smile not long after. 

“Well, that’s why you’re here. Because between the two of us, you’re the brains!” Chanyeol exclaimed.

“And you’re the brawns, since you have no brains,” Kyungsoo said. 

“Hey!” Chanyeol protested. However, the complaint died on his lips when he saw a small smile on the shorter’s lips. “Ah, you’re just messing with me!”

“Are we making fun of Chanyeol again?” Baekhyun asked, appearing from the door. “I want to join!”

“Well, what do you want to talk about? His hair?”

“His height?”

“His teeth?”

“His ears?”

“Yah! Don’t talk about my ears!” Chanyeol said, covering them with his hands.

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun shared a look before jumping on the tall giant. Although the other two were drenched in sweat, Kyungsoo didn’t mind as they wrestled against each other. Laughter rang throughout the hall, making the servants smile. It wasn’t often that they were able to hear Kyungsoo laughing.

It had been ten years since he had first met Amber and Baekhyun. Ten years since he had started training in his Earth powers and talking with Spirits. Nine years since he stopped training with Fire and started looking at documents, helping King Jihoon with his work.

Kyungsoo was now 19, Chanyeol and Baekhyun both 20. They had reached the age where they decided which way they wanted to continue. Chanyeol chose fighting, while Kyungsoo chose diplomacy. Baekhyun, chose both.

“C’mon, let’s go enjoy the air!” Chanyeol said, landing on his back. 

“The window’s open,” Kyungsoo said.

“I mean, let’s go out to town! Buy some stuff! I’m really craving street food,” Chanyeol explained, correcting himself.

“I agree. It’s been awhile since you last came with us,” Baekhyun commented.

“You know how I am in front of people,” Kyungsoo muttered, not looking at either of them. He sat up, playing with his fingers. “I’d just stop you from having fun.”

“Of course you won’t. It just means that we get to protect you! Our little Baby Soo!” cooed Baekhyun. 

Kyungsoo pouted and turned his head away from the other. He wasn’t particularly fond of that nickname, so he never answered when they called him that. 

“C’mon Kyungie. please?” 

Silence.

“It’s our anniversary. From when we first became friends,” Baekhyun added.

Sigh.

“Fine,” Kyungsoo groaned. “Let me change.”

“Why? You look fine like that. Let’s go!” Chanyeol proclaimed, pulling Kyungsoo out of the Kingdom.  
~  
“Would you like to buy one?”

Kyungsoo looked up to see a woman looking at him. He was standing in front of the fruit stand. There were many fruits there, some of which were foreign to him.

“What are these?” he asked, as he stepped forward, gesturing to a fruit that was shaped like a U, although it was elongated and yellow.

“Ah, this is from the Teleportation Kingdom. It’s called a banana. You peel the skin away, and eat the inside,” she explained.

Kyungsoo nodded and handed her three silver coins. She thanked him as she gave him the banana.

“What’s that, Soo?”

Baekhyun had walked up to him, several bags hanging from his side.

“They call it a banana,” he answered, peeling the skin away, like the merchant had told him. He sniffed it cautiously before biting into it. Sweetness burst in his mouth, making him wish that he bought more.

“I want a bite!” Baekhyun exclaimed, leaning forward to bite it.

“No way, go buy your own!” Kyungsoo retorted, pulling the banana away from the other.

“Aw, why are you so mean,” he pouted, walking away to buy his own.

Kyungsoo scrunched his nose and continued walking down the market until a jewelry stall caught his eye. It wasn’t so much the person calling him to come and see, but rather the pocket watch that lay against its container. It was silver, and the front cover was like a web, each string connecting to another, although not covering the golden tree in the center.

“Ah, yes. This is a pocket watch. Its previous owner said that its owner will either gain power, or lose it,” the merchant revealed, noticing Kyungsoo’s interest in it. “He said that it was both a curse and a blessing.”

Kyungsoo didn’t hear what he said next, too immersed in the watch.

“How much?” he asked.

“Too much for the likes of you,” the merchant replied, looking at Kyungsoo’s appearance. To not make a big fuss, Kyungsoo often dressed as a palace servant. His eye twitched.

“YEOLLIE!” Kyungsoo shouted, attracting the attention of those around him. It didn’t take long before the other showed up, smiling happily as if a dog running to its master.

“Yeah?” he asked, looking at Kyungsoo.

“I want that,” he whined, pointing at the pocketwatch. He looked at his friend with his eyes, widening them a bit to make it seem more childlike and innocent.

“Yeah, sure. How much is it?” Chanyeol asked, looking to the merchant.

“12 gold coins,” the merchant answered, glancing at Kyungsoo.

“Twelve? Don’t you have that? I’m pretty sure that dad gave you more than me,” Chanyeol frowned, pulling out his pouch.

Kyungsoo shrugged. “It’ll be my present for our friend anniversary.”

“Alright.” Chanyeol handed the coins over and took the pocketwatch, placing it around his friend’s neck.

Kyungsoo smiled up at his friend and promised dinner with him and Baekhyun.

As he made his way back to the carriage, he failed to notice the two men on horseback a few feet away.

“See? He’s spoiled. And they want us to talk to him about the new treaty,” spat one of them.

“Do not judge him by first appearances,” the other warned.

Urging the horses forward, they soon passed by him, not noticing how he gave his extra coins to the poor children and adults on the street.  
~  
Kyungsoo placed the final plate on the table, smiling at how nice everything looked. A knock on the door pulled him away from the table. He quickly took off his apron, placing it on the rack and quickly dried his hands.

“Coming!” he called out as someone knocked a second time. He rushed over quietly and opened, smile on his face to greet Chanyeol and Baekhyun. “Come - who are you?”

“Ah, King Jihoon warned that you wouldn’t be informed about who we are. We are visiting from the Teleportation Kingdom and the Water Kingdom. We’re here to talk about the treaty?” one of them said. The other stayed silent and looked as if he was glaring at him.

“Oh, I’m Kyungsoo,” he said, bowing down. “And you are Prince Joonmyeon and Prince Jongin. Correct?”

“Yes. And you are the cousin of Prince Chanyeol,” Jongin replied, somewhat speaking down to him.

Kyungsoo frowned and was about to say something when his real guests showed up.

“Ah! Joonie!” Baekhyun yelled, jumping on the prince. 

“Uh, why won’t you come in and have some dinner,” Kyungsoo said, stepping back to let them in. “I made plenty for all of us to eat.”

“Thank you,” Joonmyeon said, following Chanyeol who headed straight to the table.

Jongin soon entered, not even sparing a glance at the other. Kyungsoo closed the door and followed the others to the table.

“Wash your hands,” he ordered,”or no food for you.”

As they headed towards the sink, he placed two more plates and cutleries on the table. 

“Enjoy,” he said.

Their dinner first started awkwardly, it having been the first time that Prince Joonmyeon had visited the Fire Kingdom. Their kingdoms used to be enemies after all.

However, the ice was broken once Joonmyeon started saying jokes, which were painful to listen to. Some of them were so stupid that they had to be laughed at. Chanyeol burst out laughing, food spit flying everywhere. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun berated him for doing so, which made Joonmyeon giggle at their close relationship. Even Prince Jongin managed a smile. 

Once they were done eating, Kyungsoo led Joonmyeon and Jongin to his study room, the other two not far behind.

“From what I saw from the treaty was that you wanted 500 more of our soldiers in exchange for 250 from both of your Kingdoms,” Kyungsoo said, looking around on his desk to find out where the paper had gone. “But if I remember correctly, you didn’t state a reason as to why you needed them.”

The other two exchanged a glance, but didn’t say anything.

“And didn’t you ask for 100 of my soldiers several months ago?” Baekhyun chimed in.

Silence followed.

“We’re preparing,” Jongin said. Everyone turned to look at him.

“Preparing?” Chanyeol asked. “For what?”

But no one needed to answer. They all knew what they were preparing for.

“War.”  
~  
“Why didn’t you ask for help sooner? Or tell us what was happening?” King Jihoon asked, looking angry at the fact.

“Because of who our enemy is,” Joonmyeon answered. “It’s the Earth Kingdom.”

“What are you talking about? The Earth Kingdom is being ruled by -”

“He was attacked and is now imprisoned. For the last three years,” Joonmyeon said.

“Who now rules?”

“Former Minister Lee.”

“He has attacked the villages that border the kingdom, taking over our land. We had stationed our troops there, but Earth is-”

“I know.”

“We will help. If it is your fight, then it is ours as well. The Earth Kingdom may be our ally, but I will not allow it to become corrupt,” Kyungsoo said, surprising everyone.

“What power do you have to help us?”

Everyone turned to look at Jongin, who was scowling at Kyungsoo.

“Jongin!” Joonmyeon warned.

“You should watch your mouth boy. You do not know what you are talking about. You speak without knowledge and with no thought. You know nothing,” Kyungsoo hissed, storming out of the room.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun shared a look and followed, knowing that Kyungsoo was prone to become injured when angered.

True enough, they had barely left the room when they heard a crashing sound. Rushing out, they found Kyungsoo slumped against the wall, a dull look on his face. Next to him lay a broken vase, explaining the reason of his bleeding.

“Yeollie,” he mumbled, tears threatening to fall from his face. “I-it hurts.”

Chanyeol was quick to swoop down and lifted Kyungsoo into his arms. Holding him close to his chest, Chanyeol pressed soft kisses onto his forehead.

“Let’s go to the Medic,” Baekhyun said, pulling them down the hall.

“You should be careful about him,” King Jihoon warned, still sitting at the table. The two princes had followed them to the door, watching as the figures grew smaller until they turned down into an adjacent hall.

“Excuse me?” Joonmyeon asked.

“A book should not be judged by its cover, for what is on the outside will never be able to show what truly lies within. Kyungsoo is a very special person. There are many things that he holds on his shoulders that would kill another person who tries. He is a good man, but one day he’ll be a great one,” King Jihoon said, standing up. Bowing to them, he quietly left the room.

“Come, let us see their soldiers for now,” Jongin said, heading to his room to change.  
~  
“You’ll be healed soon,” Yixing said, having finished wrapping Kyungsoo’s arm. “You lost a lot of blood though, so you might feel a bit light headed. But that’s to be expected.”

“Thank you Yixing. I’m happy that the time you decided to visit was now,” Kyungsoo said, joking.

“Well, I wasn’t here to be your medic, but I’m glad that it worked out,” he agreed. “By the way, who’s visiting? I heard whispers among the servants that the two visitors were ‘oh so handsome that I could just die if they even looked at me.’”

“Prince Joonmyeon and Prince Jongin,” Kyungsoo answered. “Apparently, the Earth Kingdom has been overthrown. They wanted a trade between our soldiers to help them.”

“Hmm. Well, it seems like the spirits weren’t very happy with his statement,” Yixing said. Along with his healing powers, the prince was also gifted with Sight. That allowed him to be able to communicate with the spirits.

“What did they do?” Kyungsoo asked, leaning forward. Yixing was always a gossip, never one to keep his mouth shut.

“Let’s go see, shall we?” he replied, wriggling his eyebrows. Helping the younger to his feet, he lead them to the open area room for that floor. Several chairs and couches were in the room, with bookcases that were either against the wall, or attached to the wall. On the far side of the room was a wide window, with a small bench underneath it so that people may be able to talk peacefully.

It was the window that Yixing led him to.

“Look out the window,” Yixing said, not looking himself.

Frowning, Kyungsoo turned his head to the window, allowing him to view at the sword arena. He blinked, still not understanding what it was before he caught sight of the two people who were in a match. One of them was Taekwoon, a Fire user that specialized in fire swords.

He turned his head to the other person. His breath hitched.

The other was Prince Jongin, who was standing on the other side of the arena. He looked tired, if given anything to his heavy breathing, He was shirtless, showing off his tan abs, which glistened from the thin layer of sweat that he had created. Jongin ran a hand through his wet hair, before shaking it, making droplets of water fall to the ground.

“W-what does this have to do with what he said earlier?” Kyungsoo asked, almost unable to look away from the window.

“It doesn’t,” Yixing replied. “They just wanted to test something.”  
~  
“You’re being quiet today Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol said.

“I’m just tired,” Kyungsoo said, yawning.

He didn’t fail to notice the strange look Prince Jongin sent him.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, looking at the other.

“No, it’s just that I find it funny how you’re tired when you sit around all day,” he answered, giving him a challenging look.

Kyungsoo’s eye twitched.

“Of course, that’s just me asking what you actually do around here.”

“I am a Diplomat, or training to be one. And if that’s what you call sitting around all day, then I feel bad for Prince Joonmyeon,” Kyungsoo said, tilting his head to the other who was sitting uncomfortably, ”as he’s a Diplomat as well.”

Jongin gave Joonmyeon a regretful look before lowering his head.

“You shouldn’t mess with Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun warned. “He’s a smart mouth.”

“Did you sleep well last night Soo?” Chanyeol asked worriedly, rubbing the younger’s back. “Did you have nightmares again?”

Kyungsoo hesitated before nodding. He didn’t like having the dreams, and he hated it even more when Chanyeol asked him about it. It just made him remember what happened. He was about to open his mouth to stop Chanyeol from asking, when Yixing burst into the room.

“Kyungie!” Yixing said, smiling as he saw the other.

“Xingie!” Kyungsoo greeted, opening his arms for a hug. His sleeves rolled down as his arms were raised, revealing his bare skin.

“Woah, Kyung,” Baekhyun exclaimed. “Where’d you get all those scars from?”

He quickly lowered his arms, covering the scars and bruises that covered them.

“Oh, it’s-”

“Don’t you dare to say anything Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol threatened. His eyes were narrowed and his voice, usually perky and full of happiness, was now deep and serious.

“I-I, uh, got them while training,” Kyungsoo muttered, looking down.

“What training?”

“I started training again. Just in case, y’know?” he answered, playing with his fingers. “Did you need something Yixing?”

“Your uncle is calling for you. He said it was urgent, but if you were busy then it could wait,” the other replied. “He’s in his study.”

“Let’s go then.”

Kyungsoo cleaned his hands before getting up to leave, following Yixing.

“What’s this about Xing? Does he really need me, or is it...?” Kyungsoo trailed off, not daring to say it aloud. Both knew that it was dangerous to talk about it, even more so than when he first began. Running off into the woods for several years to talk to someone for hours did not seem like something someone who is loyal would do.

“It’s her. She said something big has happened. And that we need to move fast,” Yixing answered, both of them rushing to his room.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was listening to their conversation, deciding to follow them.  
~  
“Hurry,” Kyungsoo muttered. “Someone’s been following us.”

Yixing closed the door to Kyungsoo’s bedroom, making sure to lock it. It wasn’t unusual for them to lock it, the servants thinking that they’re gossiping the time away in there.

Kyungsoo opened the wardrobe and moved the false floor, letting Yixing go first. Once down, he put the false floor back, and, for extra security, he moved the earth to cover it.

“I have a feeling,” Kyungsoo said, heading down the corridor that leads to the forest,”that it was the person who doesn’t like me.”  
~  
There was a small crack sound, barely echoing throughout the room.

“Where the hell are they?” he muttered, looking at the room he had just appeared in. He wasn’t going to give up that easily as he started searching the room.  
~  
“Amber,” Kyungsoo said, his eyes wide. He rushed over to her, falling to his knees. The girl was covered in bruises, some of the cuts still bleeding. He didn’t dare to touch her in case he caused more pain. “What happened to you?”

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out since a fist appeared in his vision. He quickly ducked and did a leg swipe, making her fall to the ground.

Sensing a movement behind him, he jumped up, kicking a leg back to defend himself. However, they grabbed his foot and pulled up, flipping him backwards, onto his back. Before anyone else could attack him, the earth softened, making him sink into the ground.

It enveloped him like a warm blanket, covering him completely. Then he moved, the earth pushing him to a different location. He made sure that the coast was clear before coming out. He quickly got to his feet and made a quick assessment of the surrounding area.

He frowned, not seeing anyone other than Amber and Yixing, who were smiling at him.

“He’s ready,” she said, nodding her head in approval. She lifted her hand, and snapped her fingers, the bruises and cuts disappearing.

“Wha-? What was that?” he asked, shock rippling through him.

“The spirits have warned me that the Earth Kingdom is ready to attack. We must hurry and plan strategies. Then you’ll take them to King Jihoon and prepare to fight. The time is close.”

“Tell me what to do,” Kyungsoo said, agreeing.  
~  
Kyungsoo and Yixing were careful to make sure that no one was in his room when they left the tunnel. They quickly replaced it and headed towards the door. Just as they approached it, the door swing open, revealing their friends, along with Jongin and Joonmyeon.

“Hi,” Kyungsoo greeted. Then he noticed their confused looks. “Is something wrong? Did we miss anything?”

“We were like, in here two minutes ago!” Chanyeol said. “We didn’t find you at all!”

“Oh. My room has some secret passages and stuff,” Kyungsoo explained. It wasn’t a lie nor was it the complete truth. “Xing and I use it when we want some time away from all of the royalty stuff.”

Baekhyun nodded, but Chanyeol frowned. He didn’t remember having any secret passageways in the castle. He’d have to ask the other about it later.

“Anyway, we wanted to tell you that Jongin is going to be training you,” Baekhyun said, looking excited.

“Training? For what?” Kyungsoo frowned. He was nervous, not wanting to be with the other who seemed to despise him.

“For the war, if there is one. It was Yixing’s idea. I mean, who better to teach you at fighting with your senses than a teleporter?”

Kyungsoo shot Yixing a nasty look, to which the other smiled innocently at him. He knew it was never a good choice to leave Yixing alone with Baekhyun.

“Fine. When will training begin?” Kyungsoo asked. He knew that he would never get out of the training, so he might as well go with it.

“Now.”

Kyungsoo barely registered the word before Jongin grabbed his hand. He was unprepared for the warp to the outside world, stumbling a bit, although Jongin was there to steady him.

“A little warning would have been nice,” Kyungsoo muttered, steadying himself. 

“It’s not like I care,” Jongin replied. “Now, prepare yourself. I won’t go easy.”  
~  
Kyungsoo fell to the ground in a disgrace.

“You seriously thinking that you’ll win the war with that?” Jongin asked, raising an eyebrow. He had been teaching the other hand to hand combat for a little over an hour. Although the older was getting better at fighting, it was nowhere close enough if Kyungsoo planned to go with them.

“I never said I was fighting to win the war. I am fighting for the country that raised me,” Kyungsoo shot back, slowing getting to his feet. “Even one person can make a difference.”

“Yes. But they still need to know how to fight,” Jongin sighed. He shook his head. At this rate, they’d be going nowhere.

He turned and looked at Kyungsoo, taking in the way the other’s mouth was slightly pouted. How his chest heaved up and down as he tried to catch his breath. And how his big doe eyes stared up innocently at him.

Jongin cleared his throat and turned away.

“We’ll take a break for now,” Jongin said. “Hi Yixing.”

“Kyungsoo. King Jihoon would like to speak with you,” he said, walking over to the boy and checking his injuries.

“M’fine Xing,” Kyungsoo said, pulling his arm away. “It takes a lot more than that for me to get hurt.”

He and the other walked away from the arena and headed towards the doors.

“Did you talk to him about the strategies?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Yeah. He said that he also has something planned,” Yixing said. “But he wouldn’t tell me unless you were there.”

“Let’s just hope that it won’t make me more irritated than I am now.”  
~  
“So, the heirs will form a team and infiltrate the Earth Palace?” Kyungsoo repeated. He thought the idea was good, but it had some setbacks in it. “If that’s your plan, then we need to be at least a good thirty feet into the ground. People who have the Earth power can sense a change in it in a good twenty feet radius. Twenty-five if they pushed it to the limit.”

“Of course. That is why we’ll have two Earthbenders go along with you. So they can create the tunnel,” King Jihoon said.

“But-”

“You will stay hidden as an Earthbender, Kyungsoo. We can’t risk anyone knowing who you are,” King Jihoon said.

“Likewise, it will be an advantage for us. He’ll be so shocked that you’re there. To him, you’ve been missing in the forest,” Jaehyo insisted. “That’s what we told him and he has no proof to state otherwise.”

“When do we leave?” Yixing asked, looking down at the map that took up most of the table.

“A trip in a carriage takes about a week. On horseback, it would take five days. An army, it would take at least a week and a half. Maybe two as we are meeting up with the armies from the other kingdoms. You will leave four days after our departure, which is in two days. The other princes will be here either at the end of the week,” King Jihoon explained.

“You’ve met the others before, so it will be easy for to work together,” Jaehyo said. “But, we are having Joonmyeon and Yifan be the leaders though. In case something does go wrong.”

“I’m fine with that,” Kyungsoo nodded. “But how are you so sure that we will be there by that time?”

“We’re not. But Prince Joonmyeon and Prince Yifan are good leaders. We know that they will be able to get you there for the assault. We have faith in them,” Jaehyo said.  
~  
“So, what do you think about him?” Joonmyeon asked, an innocent smile on his face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jongin scoffed.

“He’s short and cute. And squishy. You like him. I know you do,” Joonmyeon teased, wriggling his eyebrows. “He’s your type.”

“I can’t -”

“Jongin, you can’t hold onto this ‘D.O’ person from when you were a kid. He may have been your fiance from a promise that you guys had when you played together, but you haven’t seen him since, and he never replied or tried to contact you after,” Joonmyeon said softly. 

“But a prince always keeps his promise,” Jongin replied stubbornly.

“Did he keep his promise to contact you?” Joonmyeon asked, raising an eyebrow. When Jongin didn’t reply, he continued, ”Just follow your heart. You’ll never forget it.”

At that moment, Baekhyun and Chanyeol entered the room, both looking very excited. They headed towards the two, not noticing how Jongin seemed a little put off.

“We’re heading out to the market,” Chanyeol said. “Do you guys want to come with?”

“The market? Didn’t you go on the day we came here? Why are you going again?”

“It’s nice to go out and not be royalty. They treat us as any other person and that’s what I like about them,” Baekhyun said. “Plus it’s nice to hear what’s going on with the people. We don’t always hear everything in the reports.”

“That seems fun,” Joonmyeon said, smiling. “What about Kyungsoo? Is he coming?”

“We usually invite him. But he declines most of the time. Doesn’t stop us from asking though. Would you like to come and invite him with us?”

The two agreed and they all headed towards Kyungsoo’s room. 

“If you’re looking for Prince Kyungsoo, he isn’t in his room,” a maid said. She was walking by when she saw them knocking on his door. “He’s gone to the market.”

“The market? Why is he there?” Chanyeol frowned. 

“It’s the 12th. He’s out distributing food to the poor,” the maid replied.

“Oh yeah. We should go out and help him,” Baekhyun said. As they headed towards the front of the castle, he explained. “Kyungsoo was always sympathetic to those who are unfortunate. So every month, on the twelfth, he goes out and distributes food. He grows everything himself, or he buys it with his own money.”

“That’s very kind of him,” Joonmyeon said.

It didn’t take long for them to find where Kyungsoo was. He and another servant were handing out boxes of food. They weren’t filled to the brim, but it had enough to last them at least two weeks. However, if they had a family, then they would get more food according to how much people they had living with them.

It also came with a little box of soap, some cloths, and one gold coin.

Although it was hot and tiring, Kyungsoo always smiled.

“Guys, come help!” he called out, once he spotted them. 

Soon, they were all handing out food and with the four of them, Kyungsoo having dismissed the servant, they were finished.

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo said, smiling at them. He wiped his forehead before grabbing some water to drink.

“You do this every month?” Jongin asked, leaning against the wall.

“It’s tiring, and it doesn’t seem like it’ll help much. But the look on their faces when they receive the food is what makes me keep doing this every month,” Kyungsoo answered, a small smile on his lips. “By the way, why are you guys out here?”

“We wanted to go shopping a bit. We planned to invite you but you were already out here. So, you can’t say no!” Chanyeol said. “Let’s go!”

Kyungsoo knew he couldn’t get out of it this time, so he agreed. 

They started out as one group at first, but soon separated. Technically, Kyungsoo got separated from everyone when he was talking to an older woman at a stall about trouble near the edge of the border, from the Earth Kingdom.

Kyungsoo sighed; it confirmed what Joonmyeon and Jongin told them. He didn’t want to truly believe it, but he couldn’t deny it at this point. When he looked back up to find the others, who were supposed to be in the next stall, they were gone.

It wasn’t the first time it happened, so he merely walked along the stalls, making small talk with the merchants. Every now and then, he would buy a small toy and give it to one of the children. He just loved the way their eyes light up when he offered it to them. 

It didn’t take long before he found one of the others. And to his luck, it happened to be Jongin. He hurried up to the other, not really liking to be too far from people he knew while he was in public.

“Jongin!” he called out, although hesitantly. He knew that the other prince didn’t like him that much. But at that moment, he didn’t really care. “Where are the others?”

Jongin looked up.

“Oh, there you are. I don’t know. Yixing showed up, and then they all disappeared while I was playing one of the games,” he shrugged. “I’ve been by myself for like, ten minutes. Since you’re here, can you show me where the hair clips are? I want to bring some back home.”

Kyungsoo felt a lump in his throat when he heard that.

“For a girl you’re courting?” he asked conversationally. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in when the other replied no.

“It’s for my sister. She’s not able to travel as much as I can since she’s going to ascend the throne. So I usually bring her back gifts,” Jongin answered, following the older as he walked down the street.

“The accessories will be in these stalls. Each stall specializes in different gems, so it’s up to you which one you want,” Kyungsoo said.

Jongin nodded and headed straight for the first stall. There, a lady was selling necklaces, hair clips, bracelets, everything really, that all had a pink stone. He seemed lost, not sure which was which.

“All though you’re here for hair clips, I think your sister would like this ring. It’s quite a popular style,” Kyungsoo said, picking up a ring. It was a thin silver band, with the gem lightly perched on top of it.

Jongin took it in his hands and looked it over. It did seem very pretty.

“But Rose Quartz is a courting type of gem, so I would recommend you look at Sapphires. They’re more common in gifting within the family,” Kyungsoo said.

“Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?” Jongin frowned, putting down the ring. 

“It didn’t seem as important as my opinion,” Kyungsoo shrugged. “Nothing is more important than my opinion, in my opinion.”

“You did not just say that,” scoffed the younger.

“I said it, you heard it, it happened.”

This time Jongin picked a nice-looking barrette, with the help of Kyungsoo. He had barely paid before he disappeared, leaving Kyungsoo staring at the spot he was just standing at. It wasn’t long until he came back.

“I just gave it to my sister. She thanked you, by the way, for choosing it out. Since I, apparently, don’t have fashion sense.”

Kyungsoo snickered. They went strolling through the stalls for another hour or so, talking about random things before they both called it a day and went back to the palace.  
~  
Kyungsoo and Jongin were in the training arena again, this time, being taught how to defend himself. It was their fourth lesson together, two days having passed since the army had left, and another two until the other princes started arriving. Although it was subtle, Kyungsoo noticed that Jongin was becoming a lot less aggressive towards him. So he was nicer to the other as well, such as not complaining when he was taught what he already knew. That and Yixing had told him it was nice to learn new things as it expanded his knowledge on fighting.

So there he was, or both were. Having been tired from the last hour, they decided to call a break, both of them lying on the floor, hoping the coolness of it would help their bodies relax.

“Why’d you choose to be a diplomat?” Jongin asked, startling the other.

Kyungsoo didn’t reply right away, a bit startled that the other was talking to him.

“Because Chanyeol would start a war with all the kingdoms if he didn’t choose to become a warrior,” he replied, snickering.

“But does it matter?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re all in a peace treaty. We wouldn’t start a war no matter how bad Chanyeol would have been at diplomacy,” Jongin stated.

“Please, he once traded a golden ring for ‘magical beans’ that’s supposed to grow all the way up to the clouds where a goose that laid golden eggs was living,” Kyungsoo snorted. “If he didn’t start a war, then he’d start bankrupting the kingdom.”

“He’s stupid.”

“He’s a child. And you’re right. It doesn’t matter.” When Jongin sent him a confusing look, he continued, “Baekhyun and Chanyeol are kinda a thing, and since Baekhyun chose both, then it doesn’t matter.”

“Wait wait wait. They’re together?”

“Not that anyone is supposed to know, but yeah. Why do you think they like to hang out in my room? Because I don’t say anything and no one comes into my room without my permission at all.”

“Okay, one more move and then we’ll be done for the day, alright?” Jongin proposed, getting to his feet. Kyungsoo nodded and was about to get to his own feet when a hand appeared in his face. He grabbed onto it and was pulled to his feet.

“Thanks,” he said, patting down his clothes for dust.

“Okay, so if a person attacks you with no powers, they’ll probably have a weapon on them. However, they will try to disorient you first. The most basic move is where they will try to trip you on the ground. I’ll show you what it looks like, and then you can try it on me,” Jongin explained.

Kyungsoo nodded and swallowed when he saw how close the other was to him. The shorter ducked his head to hide his blush, hoping that it wasn’t too obvious as Jongin placed his hands on either side of his waist.

“They’ll grab onto your pants like this,” he said, demonstrating. “Pull you in close, and when you’re least expecting it, lock your leg in place with theirs and push you backwards, so you’re lying on the ground.”

As he explained the actions, his body followed suit, leading to a Kyungsoo laying on the floor underneath him as Jongin was on his hands and knees above him.

They stared at each other, not knowing what to do next.

“S-so should I try it on you now?” Kyungsoo asked quietly, not sure how to get out of the position they were in.

“Yeah,” Jongin said, getting to his feet.

Kyungsoo did what he remembered Jongin had told him, pausing once or twice to ask a question before he did it. It took several more tries to do it until he could do it correctly.

When he did, Jongin landed on his back, his hands on Kyungsoo’s waist so the smaller wouldn’t fall. Which led to Kyungsoo sitting on his stomach.

“I did it!” Kyungsoo said happily, not noticing the position they were in.

“Yeah, you did,” Jongin replied, giving him a small smile.

“Well. This is definitely not what I expected to find when I came to check up on you two,” an amused voice said.

They both looked up to find Prince Sehun staring at them with a smug look on his face.

“I was teaching him the leg trip. He fell on top of me,” Jongin quickly explained, sitting up. Kyungsoo crawled off his lap and sat on his shins, too embarrassed to look at the younger two.

“Don’t get any silly ideas,” Kyungsoo muttered. He got to his feet and rushed off, leaving the younger two princes on their own.

“Why are you here early, you brat?” Jongin asked, annoyed.

“The last time I was here, there was a very pretty maid that caught my attention. I had to leave before I could talk to her, but now I have my chance,” Sehun grinned, walking off. “I need to go find her, so if you don’t mind.”

Jongin scoffed and grabbed a towel before heading back into the castle. He decided to take a bath, knowing that he was covered in several layers of sweat. Plus, he knew that Joonmyeon wouldn’t talk to him if he smelled, nor would any of the other princes that would arrive. What he didn’t expect when he arrived, was that Kyungsoo decided to take one too.

“You can go first. You live here after all,” he said, taking a step back.

“What are you talking about?” Kyungsoo asked. “The baths are for multiple people. Yixing, Joonmyeon and Sehun are in there already.”

He opened the door and waited until Jongin went in first. The younger prince was still a bit skeptical, but once he saw the others’ clothes hanging, he calmed down a bit.

“The last time you were here, you were probably by yourself,” Kyungsoo said, stripping of his clothes. “But the baths were created so that multiple people can bathe at once. You put your clothes in the hamper, and your new clothes in the hole. And then you can bathe.”

Kyungsoo entered first, a bit used to how it was done. And when Jongin followed after him, he had already entered the water.

The room was covered in walls made of thick wood. The bath was a big hole in the ground, but the walls of it were made of a smooth marble. There were two holes, one where water entered, and another where water flowed out, both on opposite sides of each other.

“So, did you find that girl?” Joonmyeon asked, leaning against the seat that was along the wall. Sehun, who sat across from him, shook his head.

“No, but I won’t give up! She’s too beautiful for me to give up so soon!” Sehun declared, splashing a bit of water everywhere.

Yixing giggled at the threatrics. “If you remember her name you could probably ask one of the other maids.”

“He can’t do that,” snorted Jongin, sitting down as well. “He’s too much of a flirt to remember her name.”

Everyone laughed while Sehun spluttered at the accusation.

“Speaking of love, do you have anyone you like, Jongin?” Yixing asked, wriggling his eyebrows. Everyone leaned in to hear what the tanned male would say. But Kyungsoo just waited for his response, not sure if he would like the answer or not.

“I’m not sure. There’s someone that comes to mind when you say that, but that doesn’t necessarily meant that I like that person,” Jongin replied, shrugging.

“What about you, Kyungsoo?” Joonmyeon asked. 

He flinched, not really expecting the conversation to turn to him.

“I-I think I do like someone,” he answered, playing with his fingers. He could feel one particular stare burn at his face. He didn’t want to look up, so he looked at the bubbles that covered the entire water. “But I’m not sure that person likes me back. We’re not that close after all.”

“That’s alright. Time will tell what happens next,” Sehun said.

“I think I’m going to go now,” Jongin announced, getting up. Joonmyeon said the same and followed the other out.  
~  
“So, I heard that training was quite interesting today,” Joonmyeon said, sitting on Jongin’s bed.

He was comfortable, seeing as he had been watching everything from the window. He was smirking at the younger, who ignored him and went searching for clothes before he entered the bath.

“You know, I saw you talking to each other. Were you, perhaps, flirting?”

Jongin snorted. “I don’t flirt.”

“Then what was that?”

“I merely asked him some questions. That’s all.”

“Still, when have you ever talked to a person first?” Joonmyeon asked. “You really do like him.”

“Please. I’ve talked to him, how many times? Four? I can’t like him enough from that. At least, not the way you’re referring to,” Jongin retorted.

“Of course you can. It just depends if you let yourself fall for him or not.”  
~  
Jongin grumbled to himself as he entered the library. He was not in love with the other. He sighed as the Official Librarian pointed him towards the section he was looking for.

He paused upon the arrival, as Kyungsoo was sitting by the window, his knees tucked under his chin as he read his book. Jongin wasn’t sure whether or not he should stay, not wanting to interrupt the other. While he was contemplating whether or not to continue looking for his book, Kyungsoo looked up as he heard a slight shuffle.

He was surprised to see the tan male standing between the two bookshelves.

“Are you looking for a book?” he asked quietly.

Jongin flinched, surprised to hear the other talking to him.

“U-uh yeah-yes. I didn’t want to disturb you so maybe I should just-”

“It’s alright. I can help you find the book you’re looking for. I’m somewhat accustomed to the library,” Kyungsoo offered.

“It’s a book called ‘Harry Potter.’”

“That’s one of my favorites,” Kyungsoo said, his face lighting up. “I love the storyline of it.”

The prince sprouted out everything he loved about the book. From the character development, to how his emotions were toyed with. Jongin hated to admit it, but he liked how happy the other looked just by hearing the name of the book.

“I’m sorry!” Kyungsoo squeaked. “I didn’t mean to make you listen to everything I just said. It’s just, when I was a child, one of my friends got me to read it, and it was the only thing we would talk about for days. I haven’t heard the name of it since I last saw him. It’s been so long.”

“Hey, that’s just like me,” Jongin said, smiling in the distance as the memory reappeared in his mind. “I made my friend read it. Basically forced him to. I haven’t seen him in forever.”

“What happened?”

“He just, stopped contacting me. What about you?”

“Family problems. It’s sad. I wish I could meet him again,” Kyungsoo said. He picked up the book he was reading and handed it to Jongin. “I was reading it. But I just finished it, so here.”

“Oh, are you sure? I don’t want to-”

“Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t give it to you if I wasn’t.”

“Thank you,” Jongin said quietly.

Kyungsoo nodded and drifted off into the bookshelves, finding another book to read. He had barely looked at the first book before deciding to read it.

It was called ‘Among the Hidden.’ The first book of a series. It was about a country who was on a food shortage, and had a law against families with children who had more than two children. He decided to read it because it seemed interesting to see how a country would react.

Walking back to the place where he first was, he saw that Jongin was sitting across from where he once was. So he sat in his original spot, giving the other prince a smile when he looked up. They sat and read their own books for hours. They didn’t need to talk, nor were they used to each other’s presence, but just having someone there while they read was nice.

Before they knew it, several hours had passed. They were so intrigued in their reading that they didn’t realize that the meeting time with Joonmyeon and the other princes had started. They only looked away from their books when they heard angry footsteps headed their way. 

“KIM JONGIN! WHAT DO YOU-” Joonmyeon appeared around the corner, his face red. He looked as though he was about to scold the young prince, until he saw Kyungsoo sitting with him. “What are you doing?”

“We’re reading?” Kyungsoo answered, holding up his book to show Joonmyeon. “Is something wrong?”

“The-the meeting just started,” Joonmyeon said, frowning. He didn’t realize the two were together. If he had known, he wouldn’t have bothered them at all, and let them stay there together. Him and his big mouth.

“Let’s go then,” Jongin said, putting his book down. Luckily for them, the room they were meeting in was just across the hall.  
The three of them walking in together raised some eyebrows, but no one said anything, besides Yixing, who raised an eyebrow at Kyungsoo, who just ignored the look.

“So, the plan is that we’re a secret force that will infiltrate the castle while everyone is distracted with the battle,” Joonmyeon explained once everyone was seated, having been filled in with everything.

Everyone was seated around a table with a map. Joonmyeon was pointing things out, labelling them so the others could understand what was to happen.

There was Prince Sehun, from the Wind Kingdom, Prince Yifan, from the Sky Kingdom, Prince Jongdae from the Thunder Kingdom, Prince Minseok from the Kingdom of Ice, Prince Luhan from the Mind Kingdom and Prince Tao from the Kingdom of Time.

Along with them were two Earthbenders named Min Yoongi and Kim Namjoon.

“And the Earthbenders will create the tunnel that will lead us to the palace,” Yifan concluded.

“How can we trust them?” Jongin asked, looking at them skeptically. He had yet to warm up to the idea that Earthbenders would be guiding them safely to the palace.

“Their minds are pure,” Luhan said. Then he turned to the two. “I’m sorry if you feel like I invaded your minds.”

“Not at all. Your Highness. If it is what makes you feel safe, then please, feel free do what you believe necessary,” Namjoon said, bowing.

“I trust them,” Kyungsoo said. Everyone turned to look at him, surprise on their faces. “I don’t think that they’ll turn against us.”

“And why is that?” Sehun scoffed. “Are you paying them? How much did they ask for? Money won’t ensure their loyalty to us.”

Kyungsoo rounded on him.

“Just because they are Earthbenders does not mean that they are under former Minister Lee,” Kyungsoo shot back. “Do not justify their being able to wield the earth to being part of that corrupted land. Do not do the same to others. I know for a fact that they are helping us due to the goodness in their heart. Not all people do things to gain something. There are still good people out there who do good because they are willing to do it.”

Kyungsoo stood up from the table and walked out of the room, Yoongi and Namjoon following after him.

“I like him,” Tao said.

“He’s right. Kyungsoo is kind at heart. You should go after him. After all, where will you find another person like that?” Joonmyeon said, looking at Jongin. Without waiting for an answer, he got to his feet. “I’m going to the arena. Would anyone care to join me in a battle?”

Several of the other princes went along with him, wanting to train before they went on their journey.  
~  
“Thank you Prince Kyungsoo,” Namjoon said, closing the door behind him.

“It’s no problem. It’s just - Prince Sehun - he’s been a real brat ever since he got here,” Kyungsoo said, putting a kettle on a fire.

Yoongi hummed in agreement, having been in the room several times when Sehun had one of his temper tantrums, as he took out several cups out of the cupboard.

“Yoongi, did you get any news?” Kyungsoo asked quietly.

“No, but I know that they’re still alive. I can feel it,” Yoongi replied.

Kyungsoo put down the kettle, having poured the water into the cups already. He reached for Yoongi’s hand and held it with both of his.

“I promise you, I will reunite you and your family,” Kyungsoo whispered. He turned to look at Namjoon. “Both of you.”

“Thank you,” he whispered back.

“Now sit down, have some tea, enjoy some of my pastries and rest. It will be a long journey,” Kyungsoo said. He sat down and gestured for them to do the same. “We will need to pack later.”  
~  
Kyungsoo, although mad at Sehun, decided to make dinner for everyone, so that they could get to know each other better.

He spent the entire day in the kitchen shooing everyone else out besides lunchtime, when the chefs needed to make food for everyone. It took him hours just to get the food ready. But he was feeling satisfied when he and the servants helped set up the table, placing the food on it.

It didn’t take long for Baekhyun and Chanyeol to make their way down, their sixth sense telling them that their friend had made food.

They sat down and were about to dig in when Kyungsoo appeared behind them and hit them on the head with a wooden spoon.

“No food until everyone is here. So, go get everyone. We won’t start until each chair is occupied,” Kyungsoo said.

They didn’t hesitate to run off, hurrying to find the others.

“Don’t forget Namjoon and Yoongi!” Kyungsoo yelled after them. He sighed at the sight of their retreating backs. They’ll never change.

“This looks good,” a voice said, making Kyungsoo jump.

He turned Jongin sitting in a chair, waiting patiently for the others as he eyed the food like a hawk.

“Oh, thanks,” Kyungsoo said, blushing slightly. He took a seat across from the other prince and tried not to look at him, feeling a bit awkward. He wasn’t used to being alone with the other. Especially since the other didn’t really like him.

“Did you make this?” Jongin asked, trying to fill in the silence.

“Y-yes,” Kyungsoo muttered, not daring to speak too loud. However, his nervousness was caught by the servants in the room. They started whispering and giggling to each other, which went unnoticed to the two princes.

“You’ll make someone very happy one day,” the other commented.

“Hm?”

“Having a lover who can cook is something that a lot of princes are aiming for,” Jongin shrugged, looking away from Kyungsoo as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“R-really?” Kyungsoo stuttered. His face turned red. Was Jongin implying what he thought he was? “I wonder who that will be.”

“I’m sure he- OR SHE- YES SHE BECAUSE YOU MIGHT BE INTO GIRLS. I’M NOT IMPLYING THAT YOU’RE GAY OR ANYTHING SO SHE...she...yeah,” Jongin stammered.

Kyungsoo jumped when the other started shouting, his eyes wide as he listened to the other prince try to explain himself.

“Uh, yeah. No worries. I-I like princes,” Kyungsoo said, hoping that it would calm the other down. Thankfully it did, and Jongin just stared at his empty plate.

The others walked in at that moment, saving Jongin from embarrassing himself any further.

“That was funny,” Sehun commented, looking at Jongin.

“Shut up,” the other groaned.

Once everyone sat down, Kyungsoo told them to dig in. Conversations filled the dining room with laughter and shouts of surprise.

Kyungsoo, finding himself in many conversations on both sides of the table, would often catch himself looking at Jongin, and sometimes he would also see the other looking back at him. When that happened, Kyungsoo would turn away quickly and pretend that nothing happened.

It continued for the rest of dinner.   
~  
“Uh, Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo’s head poked up from behind the counter, his hair messed up from the day’s work he had put in.

“Hello,” he greeted, smiling at Minseok. “Do you need help with something?”

“I was just wondering what you were doing,” he replied.

“I was packing food for the journey. Because we won’t be able to go above ground, we need to pack food. Jongin won’t be able to teleport back for food either as the guards that remain will be on high alert, and will arrest everyone who is not meant to be in the castle,” Kyungsoo answered. “There are fourteen packs, one for everyone.”

“Fourteen?” Minseok asked, confused. “Are-are you coming with us?”

“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I?” Kyungsoo frowned.

“Well, Jongin said that your fighting skills aren’t up to par and that you wouldn’t be going with us,” Minseok answered.

“He what?”  
~  
“KIM JONGIN!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch Kyungsoo storm into the arena.

“What do you want,” Jongin asked, not noticing how angry the other was. He was stretching, sitting on the ground trying to reach his toes.

His back was towards the other, which was why he didn’t realize what had happened until it was too late.

“YAH!” he shouted, getting up to his feet. Kyungsoo had run up to him and kicked him on the back, making him roll forward until he landed on his back.

“Who are you to say whether I go or not?” Kyungsoo growled.

“As your trainer-”

“Trainer? Is that what you call yourself after having battled me once?” he hissed. “What right do you have to keep me back?”

“Woah, woah,” Chanyeol said, stepping in between the two. “Calm down.”

“What’s going on, Soo?” Baekhyun asked, jumping on the boy’s back. It wasn’t uncommon to find those two in such a position. They often did this when they were younger to see if the both of them combined was taller than Chanyeol. They never grew out of it.

“This piece of shi-”

“LANGUAGE!”

Kyungsoo continued talking, cursing really, but in a different language that none of them knew. But with each word he said, the air around them grew colder. The others shivered, glancing at Minseok who shook his head.

He wasn’t the one who was doing this.

Baekhyun dropped off from Kyungsoo’s back and started backing away from him, knowing that the deadly aura was coming from the other.

Just as the chill was getting too cold for any of them to handle, a sharp voice called out Kyungsoo’s name.

The boy turned towards Yixing, who was walking towards them with a stern look on his face. His usual peaceful face was gone, replaced with one that would even make Kyungsoo’s glare cute. 

Kyungsoo stopped, turning to the older male.

“Xing.”

Yixing didn’t say anything but grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand and dragged him out of the arena. The others watched in silence, not daring to say or do anything after what had just happened.

Then Prince Sehun started laughing, pointing at Jongin.

“You got your ass beat!” he chortled, clutching his stomach.

“Shut up asshole,” the other muttered. He felt somewhat bad now that that was over. It wasn’t that Kyungsoo wasn’t a good fighter, he just lacked experience. Jongin didn’t want Kyungsoo being hurt on his mind. Especially after that talk he had with the other two last night.  
~  
“You remember what Amber said, right?” Yixing asked, walking back and forth in front of the other. “That you have to control your emotions? You aren’t doing a very good job of it ever since, well, ever since that prince got here. Do you want to explain to me what that’s all about?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know alright?” Kyungsoo cried out. He grabbed a fist full of his hair and pulled. “The first time I saw him, something happened. It was like something inside of me was stirring. Like-like he was the one that would solve all of my problems. But I don’t want that. I don’t have time for-for whatever that is. I need to focus on what’s important.”

“Your feelings are important too, Kyungsoo. Never forget that,” Yixing said softly.  
~  
Little did they know, two people were listening in on their conversation, one unable to contain his excitement, and the other seething in anger.

“Can you believe it?” one of them squealed. “He’s in love!”

“No! It is not going to happen. Not if I have anything to say with it.” the other growled. “I am not letting Kyungsoo end up with that-that dark skinned male!”

“You have no say in it! Let him live his life. Plus I’m kinda already talking to Jongin about it. And he was totally in love with Soo!”

“Joonmyeon, come here!” 

“What are you doing Chanyeol?” Joonmyeon asked, crouching down with them.

“Do you think Kyungsoo likes Jongin?” Baekhyun asked.

“Of course I do, isn’t it obvious?”

“NO! I WON’T ALLOW IT!” Chanyeol roared.

“What are you guys doing?”

The three of them looked up to see Jongin standing behind them, looking at them as if they were idiots.

“Nothing,” they all replied. Glancing at each other, they all ran in different directions. 

Jongin shrugged it off and walked ahead to go back to his room and pack somethings. On his way, he bumped into Kyungsoo. 

“Do you need help?” Jongin asked, looking at the packs that Kyungsoo was carrying. 

“Yes please,” was the reply and the younger hurried to help grab two of the packs, leaving Kyungsoo with one. “These are heavy. How many more do you have left?”

“This is all of it,” Kyungsoo replied, leading Jongin to his room 

“You were doing this all by yourself? Why didn’t you wait for someone?”

“I didn’t want to tire them out. Plus it isn’t that long of a trip. It’s right down the hall.”

“That’s true. But you shouldn’t be doing things like this,” Jongin said, waiting for Kyungsoo to open the door to his room. They put it down with the rest of the packs, before flopping on the ground from the tiredness.

Just like before, they just lied on the ground in silence, basking in each other’s presence. 

It didn’t take long before the hour for their departure came. Jongin left to go change into something more suitable, while Kyungsoo went to do the same. Once everyone was ready, they arrived to Kyungsoo's room, who assigned them a pack to carry.

“Why are we here?” Luhan asked. He was certain that they were going to head to the Earth Kingdom but shouldn’t they be outside then?

“Because, this is the best place to start if we’re going underground,” Kyungsoo replied. He headed towards his wardrobe and opened it, pushing everything in it aside. He let out a breath before taking out the false bottom. “No questions.”

“What the-?”

“How long have you had that?”

“You’ve never told us that that existed!”

“We’re supposed to trust him? He has a fucking hole that could go lead us to hell.”

“That’s so cool!”

“Who’s first?” Kyungsoo asked, turning around to face the group behind him. No one wanted to be the first one down there, worried of what they might find. “Yixing?”

“Of course.”

Yixing didn’t hesitate to lower himself into the hole, landing on the ledge and heading down to the next one before he would get to the very bottom.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol followed after him, their years of friendship with Kyungsoo making them trust him. The others followed not long after, although most of them seemed hesitant to make any move towards the hole.

“Namjoon, can you move the Earth so that it covers the hole?” Kyungsoo asked, having placed the false bottom back on.

Namjoon nodded and with a slight tremble, the hole was covered. Kyungsoo nodded at him and they both headed down together. At the bottom, Yoongi had opened the space up so that they could all fit without being squished.

“Well, where to now?” Tao asked, looking around.

Kyungsoo snapped his fingers and a small fired appeared, the same one that always appeared and led him the right way. This time, it lead him away from the forest, in the opposite direction.

“That way,” Kyungsoo said, pointing at where the fire was floating. Namjoon didn’t question it and put his arms in front of him, bent so they were at his sides before pushing them forward, creating a tunnel at least twenty feet deep. He walked forward and they followed. A slight tremor made them turn around, only to realize that Yoongi had closed the tunnel, so no one would know their plan. Looking at the dark tunnel ahead of them, they braced themselves for the future and adjusted their packs as they started their long journey.  
~  
“It’s getting dark in here,” someone whispered.

“What do you mean ‘it’s getting dark?’ It’s been dark since the beginning!” another person retorted. 

“Chanyeol, can you light a fire?”

“No,” Kyungsoo called out. “If you light a fire, we’ll run out of oxygen faster. If you want a light, you should ask-”

“ME!” a voice shouted, before a light appeared, illuminating the dark space that they were occupying.

“Turn it down a notch please,” Yoongi said. “Those who wield the power of the Earth can sense changes in it since the light will affect those who live this deep.”

“This deep?” Tao asked, confused.

“If you’re scared of bugs, don’t look too closely at the walls,” Kyungsoo answered, moving forward.

Tao stiffened and moved closer to Yifan holding onto his shirt.

“We should rest now though. It’s been nearly half a day since we started,” Yixing said. He had been keeping track of the time with his pocketwatch, timing their pace to see when they would make it to their destination.

“Why? We can keep going on. I’m not that tired,” frowned Jongdae.

“You aren’t, but Yoongi and Namjoon have been using their powers since we started. They are tired and need rest if we are going to continue the journey,” Joonmyeon said. “We should not overexert them. It would not be good if we want to make it there on time.”

The others looked at the two Earthbenders and realized that they were covered in a thin layer of sweat. Kyungsoo had already taken out some water for them to drink out of.

“So what do we do now?” Minseok asked, plopping down on the floor.

“Rest. We will continue in six hours time,” Yifan replied. He headed over to talk to Joonmyeon about the plans once they reach the castle.

Kyungsoo sat against the wall, squished between Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

“Stop it!” he cried out, trying to push the away the horde of fruit in front of his face. Apparently, the older two thought that Kyungsoo needed to eat, as it had been hours since the boy last ate. Forgetting that he ate with the rest of them and they should be eating as well.

“But you need to eat! You need the energy to keep going forward!” Baekhyun persisted.

“You’re so tiny! How can you survive without food?” Chanyeol agreed.

“Luhan is just as small as me!” Kyungsoo retorted.

“But I’m manly,” the other pouted.

“I didn’t mean any offense to it, I was just comparing how our height and size are somewhat similar,” Kyungsoo said, his voice growing more and more quiet with each word.

Luhan stared at him, and Kyungsoo stared back.

“Yeah, okay.”

Kyungsoo made very big arm gestures at Luhan while staring at the two beside him.

“Besides, we can’t waste too much food. We don’t have an unlimited supply,” Kyungsoo said. “But I suppose it is time for a meal. Hand me the bags, will you?”

An hour later, Kyungsoo had a soup simmering in a pot that he had packed. Others had stared at him, wondering why he would even bring it, but Kyungsoo knew that eating dry food for too long would only agitate the other princes.

He even divided the soup amongst them, but made sure to give Yoongi and Namjoon more as they worked the hardest. Everyone thanked him for the food, and asked the Moon Goddess for a peaceful journey ahead of them before eating.

“We should rest now,” Jongdae said. “Or we’ll be too tired to move forward tomorrow.”

No one argued, but each chose their own spot to lay down and sleep. It didn’t take long, they were exhausted from their travel and their constant thoughts about what awaited them ahead.  
~  
Kyungsoo awoke early the next day, knowing that he wasn’t awake because he had to, or because someone was making him wake up. But because something was headed their way.

Yoongi and Namjoon woke up just seconds after he did, looking alert, sleepiness clear from their face.

“What is it?” Namjoon asked, unsure of what it was.

“I’m not sure,” Yoongi replied.

“It’s a shari,” Kyungsoo answered. “A blind animal, similar to the mole. They rely on their paws and ears to travel underground. Some of the Earth techniques are based off of them. Or so I’ve read.”

Namjoon and Yoongi nodded, not commenting on how Kyungsoo knew what they were talking about.

“Is it about time we continued travelling?” Kyungsoo asked. “Have you both recovered enough?”

“I’m good. You?” Yoongi asked, turning to Namjoon.

“Same,” he replied.

“Wake the others up will you? I’ll get started on a meal,” Kyungsoo said, starting to pull out some food from the bags.

By the time everyone was awake, the food was done. It didn’t take long before they finished and were on their way again.  
~  
For someone reason, Jongin stuck close to Kyungsoo. Always finding things to talk about, which was awkward at first because Kyungsoo wasn’t used to interacting with other people who asked him questions. Chanyeol and Baekhyun usually just talked, not asking questions.

“Do you like animals?” Jongin asked conversationally. By this point, everyone had caught on how the younger prince was discreetly flirting with the other, making them quiet down to listen.

“Animals?” Kyungsoo frowned. “That’s too vague of a subject.”

“Dogs.”

“I like them. They’re very cute. But I don’t think I can handle taking care of them. With what’s happening and all that, taking care of a dog is too time consuming,” Kyungsoo replied. “Why?”

“I have three dogs,” Jongin said, “but they’re very obedient! It’s not time consuming at all. They follow me around all day, eat when I eat, and they even have little toilets for them in the bathroom.”

“That’s very cute Jongin,” Kyungsoo said. “But why are you tell-”

“How about dancing?”

“I like to watch people dance. Especially when it’s supposed to be telling a story. That one is my favorite. I always want to try, but I can’t dance that well. So I sing.”

“You should sing for me one day Kyungsoo.”

“I’m not promising anything.”  
~  
The routine continued for several days until they finally neared the Earth Palace. Jongin would often walk beside Kyungsoo, asking him random questions of what he liked and didn’t like. Kyungsoo, oddly enough, didn’t find himself getting annoyed having to answering question after question for days.

“It won’t be long until the armies start attacking,” Yifan said. He was standing next to Joonmyeon and Yixing, looking over the paperwork with the estimated days.

“It should start tomorrow. Or late this night. It depends on which strategy they plan on using,” Chanyeol said.

“If that’s true, we should head as close to the palace as we can now so we won’t get hurt in the crossfire,” Luhan said.

“That’s true. But the palace has dungeons, so we have to go even deeper underground,” Jongdae pointed out.

“You both make excellent points,” muttered Minseok.

“We should move down deeper as we get closer. We don’t know what Minister Lee’s tactics are. We need to be careful,” Sehun said.

“That’s the first smart thing you’ve said since I met you,” Yoongi said, looking away when the prince stared at him.

“Let’s start,” Baekhyun said.

“He’s right. It’ll be easier if we have time to prepare once we’re below the dungeons. We can make a plan as well,” Jongin said.

Namjoon and Yoongi didn’t need any other motivation to keep going forward. The thoughts of their family so close pushed them to go forward.  
~  
“Stop here,” Kyungsoo said. Everyone stopped and looked at him, confused. “This is the place.”

He looked around the small area, running his hands along the rough walls of dirt. Not caring about the small pieces that fell to the ground.

“Here,” he whispered. He started rubbing at the wall, until he no longer felt the dirt or rocks, but something metal. He blew at it, not minding the dust that flew off of it. Kyungsoo stepped back to reveal a metal grate. It was large enough that a person could walk in, but too small for people walking side by side.

“What’s that?”

“It’s our way in during the attack. We’re about fifty feet below the palace directly below it. The dungeons only go fifteen feet deep. Because some say the deeper you are in the Earth, the more power it will give you,” Kyungsoo explained.

“Wait, are you saying-”

“It leads us directly to the dungeons.”

“Wait. I just can’t follow you and listen to everything you say without being assured that you’re on our side,” Luhan said. “How do you know all these things? What’s with that tunnel from your room? Why is no one else questioning this?”

“I trust him,” Jongin stated and the others muttered their agreement.

“I was close friends with the Earth Prince, D.O, when we were younger. We would often spend time in the dungeons, talking to those who were being punished. He would ask them what lead them to act upon their crimes, so that he would be a better leader when he reigns,” Kyungsoo answered. “And while we were in the dungeons one day, I fell down a hole. It was this one. We asked those around what it was for, but no one would tell us.”

“That explains one thing,” Minseok muttered.

“Why don’t we rest for a bit and wait until they start attacking,” Yixing suggested. “It shouldn’t take long now.”

The others agreed, but not before sending skeptical glances at Kyungsoo, who merely ignored them.

Kyungsoo sat down next to Yoongi and Namjoon.

“Are you guys prepared?” he asked.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Namjoon replied, a hand wiping away the sweat from his face. Namjoon and Yoongi both left the Earth Kingdom when Minister Lee came into power. Their parents pooled together all the money they had, along with some food and water, and told them to head to the Fire Kingdom. They barely made it with what they had, their family being low class farmers.

Thankfully, Kyungsoo had found them asking for money by the market. He saw that they were two Earthbenders due to the clothes they were wearing and brought them back to the castle, where they learned to be knights.

When they first told King Jihoon, he thanked them for their bravery. That was the start of Kyungsoo’s rough training regimen with Amber, and the other knights within the training arena as well.

The two trained day and night, hoping to help their parents from the reign of Minister Lee.

“I need to give you something,” Kyungsoo said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pocket watch he had found the other day at the market. “I remember you drawing this once, Namjoon, when Yoongi was asking for money.”

“That’s-that’s dad’s watch,” Yoongi whispered. He held out his hand. “May I?”

Kyungsoo didn’t say a word, but carefully put it in the other’s palm. The moment it touched his palm, it glowed a little.

“So, it does belong to you,” Kyungsoo mused.

“It’s just how I remembered it. I-how did you get it?” Namjoon asked, staring at it in his brother’s hand.

“I bought it in the market,” the prince explained. “I believe that your father sold it in hopes to make money.”

“Thank you,” Yoongi said. He looked over to his brother. “You-you should wear this.”

“But-”

“No. Dad always said that it should go to you. And I’m not going to keep it for my selfish ways,” Yoongi said, slipping it over his brother’s neck. “There.”

“That’s nice,” a voice said. Kyungsoo, who had quietly snuck away from the brothers looked up to see Jongin looking at him.

“It’s been very hard on them,” Kyungsoo said. “They deserve some happiness in their life. They deserve hope.”

“I need to tell you something important,” Jongin said, leaning down so that no one else would hear. When he started talking again, Kyungsoo could feel his breath on his ear, making him blush. “If we survive all this, I’ll follow you anywhere.”

“Is this a confession?” Kyungsoo asked timidly, looking down at his feet.

Jongin didn’t reply but pulled back. As he did so, he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the shorter’s cheek and smirked when he saw the blush on the other’s face.

“Guys-guys. Do you hear that?” Luhan asked. Everyone paused, straining their ears to hear the distinct sound of yelling and explosions. However, it was barely there, if they didn’t know that it was happening, then they wouldn’t have heard it at all.

“That’s their third attack,” Yixing said, looking through the plans. “Now’s the time.”

Everyone looked at the grate, suddenly wondering how they were going to get through it. Yoongi stepped forward and placed his hands on the metal and seemed to have crushed it until it was a ball of metal on the floor.

“Perks of Earthbending,” he shrugged when everyone turned to look at him.

No one asked any more questions and followed Kyungsoo up the tunnel. He was already a good way up the tunnel, used to it from the way he moved around in the past.

When he got to the top, which was a hole in the floor in the dungeons, he barely waited for the next person to catch up to him before pushing the grate open. He hopped out, and helped the next person, Baekhyun, out as well.

While his friend took care of the others, Kyungsoo headed straight for the closest occupied cell. In it, he found a guard there. He was still in uniform, and didn’t look to hurt or dirty, so Kyungsoo assumed that he was only recently put in there.

“Why are you in a cell?” Kyungsoo asked, looking around for keys.

“Who are you?” the guard shot back.

“We’re princes from the other kingdoms. We’re here to throw a surprise attack from within the walls. But tell me, why are you in here?”

“Those who are still loyal to the true royal family have been thrown in here. So that we may not turn our backs against Minister Lee in the war,” the guard replied. “If he doesn’t trust you then you are put in here.”

“How many of you did he put in here?”

“There’s not many. But some of us are still on the grounds, protecting the palace.”

Kyungsoo nodded and looked around for a key. When he couldn’t find one, he asked Chanyeol to burn off the locks.

“Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll split up. Namjoon, Chanyeol, Luhan, Sehun and Minseok will stay here and free everyone who is willing to fight with us. The rest of us will go around and gather people in the palace who will help us,” Joonmyeon said. “We’ll meet up by Luhan telling us.”

“Go,” Yifan said, following Kyungsoo down the path out of the dungeons. The sounds of their hurried steps sounded like an army. People reached out to them, in hopes of escaping the cells.

Kyungsoo stopped in front of the door and paused.

“We’ll split up here. Teams of two. Since we’re an odd number, there will be one team of three. Yoongi, Baekhyun and I will go together. Alright? Go!”

Everyone rushed out the door and split up. Kyungsoo immediately headed to the right, heading towards the one place where he knew that he would be alright.

His parents’ room. He knew that it was one of the only places in the palace that would have been untouched by anyone as it was built using Earth only those of royal descent could move.

It didn’t take long, as most of the palace staff were ordered to go fight. And the ones that did see them were most likely informed that they were there to restore the Earth Kingdom.

“What’s this room?” Baekhyun asked, when they reached the stone doors.

“The answer to most of your guys’ question,” Kyungsoo replied. Placing his hands at his waist level, he pushed upwards, the stone doors following his motion until it was open. “Wait here.”

Kyungsoo went in and headed straight to his parent’s closet. However, he paused as he passed their bed, a huge portrait of his parents and his younger self hanging above it. It had been years since he last saw pictures of his parents. He could barely remember what they looked like, but he was determined to see them again.

“I’ll find you one day,” he said quietly. He lowered his head and walked into the closet, knowing that he couldn’t distract himself.

There he found the Royal Earth Pendant. It was made from Black Opal, a gem so rare that only the Royal Family wore it, having it pass down from generation to generation.

He quickly placed it around his neck and shuddered, choking back a sob as he felt the weight of his family on him. He threw back his shoulders, and headed out, knowing that he was going to save his kingdom, or die trying.

He passed Baekhyun and Yoongi, who were talking to a passerby about what was happening, ignoring that servant’s gasp when he excited the Royal Room. He also ignored his two friends’ question about why his eyes were green.

Just then, he heard Luhan calling all of them to meet at the Throne Room. They quickly headed there, along with the servant. He was tired of waiting and wanted things to be fixed.

“Did you get anyone?” Jongin asked, once he saw them enter the room. “You got one person? Wait, your eyes-”

“We have around three hundred people here,” Luhan informed them. The room sure was packed when they entered. But not enough so that it was cramped.

Kyungsoo nodded and headed straight for the throne. He stood in front of them and faced his people for the first time.

“Thank you for believing in the Royal Family, and for the hope that they might return. Today we will join the other kingdoms in what may be the worst war among the kingdoms ever. If you do not wish to fight, then you may leave. We will not ask of you to risk your life,” Kyungsoo stated, his voice loud and clear in the room, as if he was meant to.

No one moved.

“Thank you all.”

Then he turned and went out onto the balcony that was placed behind the thrones, so that whenever the Royal Family felt defeated they could look out and see the happy faces of their people.

When he got to the edge, he gasped, unable to believe what he was looking at. Piles of dead bodies lay everywhere, and those who were injured were doing their best not to get killed, trying to drag themselves off the battlefield. The ones that were fighting looked half starved, as if they were the poor and homeless dragged into the war.

In the middle of it all, he saw Minister Lee, sitting on a horse surrounded by other generals who came from his family. He was shouting orders and forcing more people into battle.

On the other side, King Jihoon and King Jokwon were with their generals, watching everything and occasionally shouting out an order. It seemed as though the other Kings and generals were in the tent, planning the next assault.

Stepping forward, he took in a deep breath.

“Stop!” he called out, his voice echoing in everyone’s ears. Although he was usually quiet, his voice carried on the entire field, reaching those even at the edge of the borders. “The Earth Kingdom, which was overthrown by Minister Lee, has now reached its time to be free of his reign. Turn against him and fight for the other Kingdoms who hope to restore this Kingdom to what it once was and may the Royal Family lead the kingdom into peace and let the lands prosper once more.”

“Who are you?” shouted a voice. Kyungsoo looked down and realized that it was Minister Lee. “You, who has never led a country before. You, who is of Fire. You are not of this land, and have no right to tell those of Earth what to do.”

“Who am I? I am Do Kyungsoo, the heir of Do Matthew and Jiwoo, the former King and Queen of this country. Twelve years ago, my parents were abducted. To ensure my safety, King Jihoon from the Fire Kingdom, raised me as his own. He taught me how to be a diplomat, training me to one day lead you, as my parents once did,” Kyungsoo stated, his voice firm. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes and the Black Opal start glowing, earning gasps from those who watched him as they realized he spoke the truth. “However, while I was gone, Minister Lee took charge and has put our country in a state of despair. It is time I rectify the damage that has been done. So citizens of the Earth Kingdom, stand beside me as we change our country back to what it once was. Back to the happy fields where the sun shone all day and the birds sang.”

One person start clapping, and then another. Then everyone start clapping, cheering for their prince. However, Kyungsoo didn’t stop looking at Minister Lee, who looked like he was ready to kill.

Kyungsoo jumped off the balcony, earning gasps from those around him, and landed. His hard impact making the spot he landed on deeper than the natural ground. He looked around and headed for Minister Lee.

Once he stood in front of the other he realized something. Minister Lee would rather die than concede to him from the look on his face. And that he didn’t care about the country as long as he had riches and power. As long as he was above everyone else.

“What is your decision?” Kyungsoo asked. The battlefield was so quiet, that everyone heard him. No eye was turned away from them, no ear not listening to what would happen next.

Everyone hoped that Minister Lee would back down, as he only had himself and his generals by his side. No one wanted anymore war. Minister Lee, however, would never back down, thinking that it would make him weak.

Instead, he would fight until he died. So he did what he did best. Attack people.

Quickly taking a step forward, he threw his right arm back to prepare to throw a punch. Kyungsoo ducked, basically squatting, as he kicked upward, his foot connecting to Minister Lee’s stomach.

He stumbled back a bit, but didn’t fall over. Seeing as Kyungsoo was on the ground, he lifted his leg and spun, his heel connecting to Kyungsoo’s cheekbone. With his head turned to the side he wasn’t able to see what Minister Lee was doing next. However, his training with Amber made him use his other senses to be able to tell what the other was doing.

Kyungsoo quickly moved away from his spot, and as Minister Lee’s foot touched the ground, making the spot where Kyungsoo was turn into sand, he got to his feet.

While Minister Lee took a step back to avoid the sand, Kyungsoo quickly stomped, several sharp stones lifting into the air. He pushed his arms forward so that it shot towards Minister Lee, who was only able to cover his face.

Most of the stones scratched him, but a well placed stone lodged itself in his left thigh. A cry of pain left the minister’s lips, but he didn’t back down.

Standing to his feet, favoring his uninjured leg, he glared down at the Crown Prince. He waved his arms back and forth, using the Earth to move him towards Kyungsoo. Once he was closer to the younger, Minister Lee jumped up, his right arm poised to attack him.

Remembering his sparring lesson with Jongin, stepped back, dodged the attack, and quickly grabbed the minister’s waist. Tightening his grip on his clothing, he moved his leg behind the other’s and pushed him back. When Minister Lee, fell to the ground, Kyungsoo quickly moved the Earth so that the other was trapped.

However, Minister Lee had more experience fighting than he did, so he made the ground softer with a flick of his wrist and sank into it, before appearing behind Kyungsoo.

Using Kyungsoo’s lack of defense, he created a boulder using his powers, and threw it towards him. Kyungsoo, sensing a heavy movement from behind, crouched down and covered his body in the Earth, hardening it so that it wouldn’t break.

The impact of it was rough, the Earth protecting Kyungsoo from scratching his back.

Once it was over, Kyungsoo stood, flinging the Earth off of him, pieces of the rock flying in all directions.

Minister Lee used the time that Kyungsoo took standing up to attack. With a swift motion of his arm, he maneuvered the Earth, so that it created a spike, aimed at Kyungsoo’s heart.

He would have died, if Jongin had not teleported to him and moved him away from the others.

“You saved me,” Kyungsoo said, smiling up at the other.

“I’m not going to follow you if you’re dead,” snorted the younger.

“Point taken.”

By the time they looked up, Minister Lee was struggling as people constrained him. The other generals had fled, but were being chased after. It wouldn’t take them long before they were captured as well.

“So, now you’re a prince,” Jongin said.

“Really? You’re saying that now? Shouldn’t you say that at like, I don’t know, the end?”  
~  
After everything was settled, Minister Lee and those who helped him claim the throne were sent to the Royal Council. There, they would have their punishments given to them.

Kyungsoo was now officially the Crown Prince of the Earth Kingdom, until the day of his coronation, on his next birthday. Although it was still some time away, he still had much to do.

There were papers to sign, money to give back, land to be replenished. And most of all, there were people to take care of.

Kyungsoo did his best to help heal the injured, using the method of asking the fallen plants for their remaining energy. With that, he was able to save most of those who were involved in the war, but sadly, those who were too critically injured had their limbs amputated, or unfortunately passed away.

Soon, everything calmed down and Kyungsoo could lead the kingdom at his own pace. Before that though, Kyungsoo stood once more at the edge of the balcony, waving and smiling to his citizens below him.

His eyes grew green and he threw his hands out and a tremor in the earth spread far and wide, making the dead plants revive once more, the dry plants were now healthy and green. He smiled at the crowd, who cheered at the recovery of their kingdom.

“One day,” he muttered to himself, ”my parents will stand alongside me.”

“So, you’re an Earthbender,” a voice said.

Kyungsoo stepped away from the balcony and turned, smiling at the the other.

“Yeah, got a problem with that?” Kyungsoo asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn’t get an answer, but Jongin wrapped his arms around the other’s waist and pulled him in for a hug.

“I think I can handle that,” the other replied, smiling down at him. He leaned down to kiss the smaller, but was stopped when a hand pushed at his chest.

“You can’t just kiss me,’ Kyungsoo said, frowning. “You haven’t even courted me yet. I am not going to kiss someone I barely know. Who do you think I am? I can’t get into any scandals.”

Jongin groaned, knowing that Kyungsoo was a stubborn person.

“Fine,” he said, relenting. “But tell me why I remember you as D.O as a child.”

“Those were the nicknames we gave each other. I remembered you as Kai.”

“So what do we do now?” Jongin asked.

“Now, you go back to your Kingdom and think of ways to court me while I stay here and attend to business,” Kyungsoo answered. He started walking down the hall, his new bodyguards, Yoongi and Namjoon, following him. “Bye!”


End file.
